When someone is experiencing a heart attack, getting to an emergency department that can provide specialized treatment quickly could mean the difference between life and death. If you live in Smyrna, your trip to the hospital for cardiac care is now even closer...

TriStar StoneCrest Medical Center in Smyrna, Tenn., expanded interventional cardiology services to 24 hours a day, seven days a week beginning June 24.

“In the event of a heart attack, every minute that goes by until a patient receives treatment increases the damage being done to the heart. In the most serious types of heart attack, getting emergency care quickly can mean the difference between life and death,” said Mark Sims, CEO of TriStar StoneCrest. “We recognized that Smyrna and surrounding communities needed a hospital that could provide this care quickly – from diagnosis to treatment - closer to home.”

Previously, heart attack patients requiring interventional treatment were diagnosed and provided initial treatment at TriStar StoneCrest and then medically transported to a nearby facility that could provide the higher level of care. Now, patients identified as having a heart attack are taken immediately to the hospital’s catheterization laboratory located just down the hall from the emergency department.

“We have worked hard with our team of physicians, nurses and Rutherford County Emergency Services partners to develop our program for complete, 24/7 heart attack care within our hospital,” said Cynthia Stroburg, chief nursing officer at TriStar StoneCrest.  “Our partnership with EMS even allows us to view a patient’s EKG in advance of arrival so the cath lab medical team can be notified and begin preparing treatment before the ambulance’s arrival to the emergency department.”

In the event that a higher, more specialized level of heart care is still needed for a patient, TriStar StoneCrest is affiliated with TriStar Centennial Heart & Vascular Center in Nashville, Tenn.

“It’s exciting to be part of a hospital that is growing and becoming more diversified in the care we provide right here on our campus,” said Christopher Thompson, M.D., family physician with StoneCrest Family Physicians at TriStar StoneCrest. “Patients can come to us for their specialty and emergency needs and receive comprehensive care as found at larger institutions in our area while still being close to their family, friends and their family physician.”

Source:

Kimberly T. Johnson, TriStar StoneCrest Medical Center