Anywho- I am back. And refreshed. And according to many- still real.
What started out as an incredibly crazy idea to put South Dakota on a web based television show to highlight our STEMI system of care turned out to be the real deal. If you haven't yet had the opportunity to see the first episode of "Code STEMI" that made it's national debut thus past week, you can click here, on the First Responder Network's website. You should pop some popcorn and grab your favorite beverage and take a look at this. My friends Tom Bouthillet from http://www.ems12lead.com/ and Thaddeus Setla from First Responder Network and their trusty companion behind the camera ( I only know him as "the Dridge") made the trek to South Dakota to see first hand not only our beautiful state, interview local STEMI champions, and meet a STEMI survivor, Mick Stanton, (yes- he has agreed to have his name out there for all of my HIPPA peeps)- who one year ago would have had a different outcome.
You see, prior to the $8.4 million grant that our state received for our STEMI system of care- care would have gone like this: 911, EMS arrives, does a 12 lead but not able to transmit, no activation of "the system" until the EKG was performed in the ER, then to cath lab after that. Because of a wonderful gift and some really ambitious people- that system has literally, changed overnight. Because of prehospital activation with the transmission of a 12 lead, a door to balloon of 19 minutes was achieved. Not 80 or 90 minutes after arrival, like it might have been prior to the grant.
Aside from what my daughter called "stick up hair" in my portion of the interview- I think it came off pretty well. It has been an honor to be a part of a project that is truly having a first hand impact in saving lives right here in South Dakota. Several of our local health systems, EMS systems, and even some old coworkers were highlighted. South Dakota has received a rap for being "out in the sticks" and "a bunch of rednecks"- I think Tom and First Responder Network for setting the world straight on the first class health care available to the 750,000 or so people that live here.
I have continued to learn a ton in this journey. I am learning those that wanted to befriend me early on in the project maybe did so for less than moral reasons. I have learned its hard to figure out who your "people" are when you are in a completely foreign world- aka not a hospital. I am learning my family still has a hard time adjusting to the extensive travel. I am learning that we all need an out- mine has become remodeling old houses. It's how I am spending my weekends.It allows me to think about something completely different than what I do all day long.
With that, I would like to give a huge thanks to everyone along the way who has helped this project come as far as it has. This project always has been, and always will be about the people of South Dakota. Those EMT's that leave their jobs, homes, and families to answer a chest pain call all the while volunteering their time. For the physicians who have championed this from the beginning. And especially for the "Mick Stanton's" of the world- there are hundreds of thousands of him across the nation, begging for "the system" to work for them too. That's the beauty of the heart- if we intervene early enough on chest pain we can fix it.......
I leave you with this. You see, she's cheaper than a therapist, doesn't talk back, appreciates the work I put into her- and hopefully will give me a little extra cash when I am done with her make-over. Yep SoDak's version of HGTV's Rehab Addict and NurseMomSTEMI- that's me.
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