 Audiology
Cardiac Rehabilitation
Cardiac Services
Cardiovascular / Respiratory Therapy
Diagnostic Imaging
Emergency Services
Family Birth Center
Home Health - HCMC Home Care
Inpatient Care
Laboratory
Long-term Care - Habersham Home
Occupational Health
Orthopedics
Pain Management
Physician Referral
PrimeCare Non-Emergency Clinic
Rehabilitation Services
Senior Counseling
Sleep Medicine
Stroke Care and Support Group
Surgical Services
Total Fitness Exercise Facility |  | Heart attacks are the leading cause of death in the United States and every second counts when you or a loved one is experiencing a heart attack.
To speed up the treatment time-line of heart attack patients, Habersham Medical Center is collaborating with Northeast Georgia Medical Center and the Ronnie Green Heart Center in Gainesville, Georgia, on an innovative program, referred to as STEMI (Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction), which is designed to quickly transfer heart attack patients to the Heart Center.
Habersham Medical Center’s goal with this collaboration is for the time to be less than 90 minutes between the point a qualifying patient’s heart attack is identified in the Emergency Department until the point a cardiologist at the Ronnie Green Heart Center opens the artery through catheterization.
Through a grant from Habersham Electric Membership Corporation’s Operation Round-up, the Habersham Medical Center Emergency Department is equipped with a Life Net Receiving Station. This allows ambulances to be electronically connected to the Emergency Department and makes it possible for paramedics to send results of onboard EKG monitors to the attending physician, so the physician can determine the most appropriate immediate plan of care – the patient needs to be stabilized first in the Habersham Medical Center Emergency Department or to transport the patient directly to the Cath Lab.
Habersham Medical Center is leading the way in this arena, and the STEMI protocol gives us an advanced treatment opportunity that is normally not available in many rural communities. The program has already saved many lives and since every second counts, quality of life as well, because faster treatment also prevents further heart damage. So, if you think you are having a heart attack, call 9-1-1 immediately. EMS personnel can begin treatment while you are in transport to the Emergency Department. In the ED, doctors can stop a pending heart attack or minimize the damage, but only if the patient can receive treatment within a relatively short window of time.
Also, it is important to recognize the most common symptoms of a heart attack which include: nausea or vomiting; sweating, chest pains, anxiety, difficulty breathing and pale skin.
If you think you are having a heart attack, call 9-1-1. Dial; Don’t Drive. | |
| 706-754-3113, ext. 2455 |
 |
|