Oakwood Donates $165K In Equipment To Dearborn Fire Dpt.

DEARBORN (WWJ) - The Oakwood Healthcare System donated five portable, 12-lead EKG units to the Dearborn Fire Department on Wednesday, furthering a commitment to reduce heart attack treatment times throughout the Detroit metro area.

The units, which represent an investment of $165,000, are capable of transmitting EKG information directly to the smart phones of attending physicians, dramatically reducing the treatment times for heart attack victims.

Healthcare systems rate the time between the arrival of heart attack patients at an emergency room and when they can receive an emergency catheterization, with a national average at about 90 minutes.

Since the new technology has been implemented at the Oakwood Hospital and Medical Center in Dearborn, the average is about 53 minutes, a figure estimated to be far less if patients are transported by the Dearborn Fire Department.

That's because doctors can make the diagnosis as soon as the information is transmitted to their phones, according to Joe Murray Ph.D., manager of the Critical Care transport Team at Oakwood Hospital and Medical Center.

"By the time the fire department gets to the hospital, our staff is ready to go," said Murray.

According to Jeffrey Beutner, Battalion Chief, Emergency Medical Services for the City of Dearborn, the four ambulance units in the city respond to about 10,000 calls every year, and they go on at least three cardiac runs every day.