Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) is once again expanding advanced cardiac care in the region.
Now some residents of Simcoe County, including Rama First Nation, who call 9-1-1 with heart attack symptoms will be transported directly to RVH for care, bypassing local Emergency departments.
People with symptoms who go to their local hospital’s Emergency department on their own will continue to be stabilized and transported to Southlake Regional Health Centre (Southlake) in Newmarket.
This change is the result of an important new heart attack protocol called the Simcoe Muskoka Code STEMI Protocol, a partnership between RVH, the County of Simcoe Paramedic Services, Rama Paramedic Services and area hospitals.
“Having these advanced cardiac services, and a highly-skilled team at RVH means that now most patients in Simcoe County will be able to get lifesaving intervention within 90 minutes of a heart attack,” says Dr. Mark Kotowycz, medical director of RVH’s Cardiac Intervention Unit. “That is great news because the faster a patient can be treated, the better the outcome. When it comes to the heart, ‘time is muscle.’ This is a very important step in our safe, gradual phased approach to eventually bring timely access to 24/7 advanced cardiac care to all of North Simcoe Muskoka.”
In January, the second phase of the new protocol will come into effect. At that time, heart attack patients who go to Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital’s (OSMH) Emergency department will be transported directly to RVH. In February this will also apply to patients who present to the Emergency departments at Georgian Bay General Hospital (GBGH) and Collingwood General and Marine Hospital (CGMH).
It is expected the protocol will extend to Muskoka residents in early summer 2021 and, by the end of 2022, paramedics in Grey County and Parry Sound will transport heart attack patients directly to RVH.
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RVH is improving access to lifesaving heart treatment for patients in the region through the Simcoe Muskoka Code STEMI Protocol, a partnership that will see some residents transported directly to RVH for care, bypassing local emergency departments. More: https://t.co/3dNfnBkUVk pic.twitter.com/wxylnRbLeM
— Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (@RVH_HealthCntr) November 2, 2020