CMC Buys Equipment for Ambulances

recently purchased CAREpoint Communication and EKG Transmission equipment for its Emergency Department and Bartow County’s entire fleet of ambulances. 

Officials say the equipment will allow the reliable transmission of quality 12-Lead EKG’s from EMS providers in Bartow and surrounding counties and represents cutting edge technology in the care of cardiac patients.

"In short, this means if a patient is having a heart attack, the ambulance can immediately transmit information from the patient’s heart to Cartersville’s ER," according to the press release.

The technology will allow Cartersville’s Emergency Department physicians to diagnose certain cardiac disorders prior to the patient arriving at the hospital, thus allowing the patient to be taken directly to the Cardiac Cath Lab for life-saving interventions. In addition, the CAREpoint equipment allows the patient’s EKG to be forwarded to the treating cardiologist via secure email or fax and records all voice and data transmissions between the Emergency Department and EMS services for later review.

"Because this is a dramatic step forward in cardiac care technology, Cartersville purchased CAREpoint/Rosetta transmission modules for ," the press release states.

Every ambulance in Bartow county is equipped with the technology.

“The installation of CAREpoint in Cartersville’s Emergency Department and our local EMS providers illustrates our continued commitment to provide the best cardiac care possible to our patients in northwest Georgia,” said Keith Sandlin, CEO of Cartersville Medical Center. “We’re extremely proud and excited about this improvement to our patient care delivery process.”

Installed last month,  officials say the hospital has already demonstrated the effectiveness of the CAREpoint system.

“We have been diligently working on our door-to-balloon times—the time from which a patient enters the ER to when blood flow is restored in the heart—and currently have some of the best times in the state,” says Maxwell Prempeh, a interventional cardiologist on staff at Cartersville Medical Center. “However, with the addition of CAREpoint, we are now able to further reduce our door-to-balloon times by up to 20 minutes.”