gphealth.org
Cutting-edge cardiovascular care is closer than ever
You’re having symptoms of a heart attack or a blood clot in your leg or lungs. You call the paramedics or head to your closest emergency room, and you’re told you need immediate, lifesaving treatment. Decades ago, that might’ve meant a long ambulance ride or helicopter trip to Lincoln, potentially hundreds of miles from where you started. That’s no longer the case.
Meeting patients where they are
“We have two state-of-the-art Siemens catheterization labs at Great Plains Health, with 24/7 interventional cardiology coverage for patients with acute heart attacks or blood clots,” says Richard Markiewicz, MD, a cardiologist at Great Plains Health Heart Institute. “We can open an artery right away with stents. We can support very sick patients, using the Impella ventricular assist device to serve as an artificial pump for a weakened heart as we open an artery. We can implant pacemakers and defibrillators if there are rhythm issues.” “Time equals muscle,” says Dr. Markiewicz. “These cath labs allow us to open an artery or remove a clot within 20 minutes of someone coming into our ER. For nearly 10 years, we’ve had the ability to treat patients locally for a wide variety of cardiovascular conditions – saving them valuable time when it comes to treatment, minimizing heart and vascular damage, and helping them heal close to home.”
Living in western Nebraska, northern Kansas and northern Colorado, GPHealth’s patient base is often “a long way from everywhere,” says Dr. Markiewicz. “They’re unlikely to travel far for non- emergent care,” he explains. “If we canmeet themat clinics out there for consultations and diagnostic tests, we can detect problems early and then bring them to North Platte if they need treatment.” Physicians like Dr. Markiewicz regularly drive 100-plus miles to extend specialty services to rural communities. This outreach also aids GPHealth providers in their mission to change the mentality that people need to travel very long distances when they need specialized care. “In many cases, patients need to be their own advocates, to say they want to go to the closest hospital available offering state-of-the-art cardiovascular care – and often that’s Great Plains Heath,” he says. +
“Inmany cases, patients need to be their own advocates, to say they want to go to the closest hospital available offering state- of-the-art cardiovascular
care – and often that’s Great Plains Heath.”
Richard Markiewicz, MD
“These cath labs allow us to open an artery or remove a clot within 20 minutes of someone coming into our ER.” RichardMarkiewicz, MD
3
Made with FlippingBook Learn more on our blog