According to a press release sent by administrators, University Hospital's Emergency Medical Technicians are utilizing new technologies to perform Electrocardiograms, known as "EKGs," to test heart activity during emergency calls rapidly.
University Hospital is the first Basic Life Support ambulance provider in New Jersey to deploy this life-saving procedure, administrators said.
According to administrators, two University Hospital emergency vehicles have been equipped with new portable cardiac monitors that will help EMT's to communicate critical findings to emergency room physicians in real-time.
By performing these tests at the scene of an emergency call, physicians can accelerate treatment plans which may increase survival rates in heart disease cases, the leading cause of death in New Jersey according to the State Department of Health.
In only the first weeks of use, University Hospital has already utilized this new technology in more than a dozen emergency calls according to administrators.
"The new technology allows the University Hospital Emergency Medical Services team to offer the best possible care to those in need of medical attention and to quickly assess patients who may be experiencing chest pains or who have a history of cardiac issues," says John Grembowiec, Director of Emergency Medical Services at University Hospital.
"Now, patients that may be experiencing a heart attack can be quickly diagnosed, and immediately transported to University Hospital for time-sensitive, life-saving treatment," added Grembowiec.
"For patients experiencing symptoms of a heart attack minutes do matter," says Gregory Sugalski, MD, Medical Director of the University Hospital's Emergency Medical Services, Vice Chair of Clinical Operations, and Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Rutgers, New Jersey Medical School
"Our new portable cardiac monitors will help first responders provide safe and timely care to patients from arrival to life-saving intervention," added Sugalski.
According to published reports, University Hospital is one of the nation's leading academic medical centers and is the Level 1 Trauma Center for Northern New Jersey. Located at University Heights in Newark, New Jersey, University Hospital is a principal teaching hospital of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences and a regional resource for advanced services across many medical specialties.
In September, the Hospital announced a partnership with Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey to expand cancer services across Essex County.