Brenda Davis Bryant, R.N. and accreditation coordinator at Cookeville Regional, educates about Early Heart Attack to fellow staff member Craig King.
COOKEVILLE – Cookeville Regional Medical Center has been recognized by the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care (SCPC) as one of the first hospitals to teach Early Heart Attack Care (EHAC) and CPR. Cookeville Regional is one of three hospitals in Tennessee to be recognized.
Brenda Davis- Bryant, R.N. and accreditation coordinator at Cookeville Regional, is passionate about her role in going out into the 14 counties in the Upper Cumberland and educating people on the warning signs of heart attacks.
“People need to recognize the signs and symptoms of a heart attack and respond to what is going on,” said Bryant.
Cookeville Regional is an accredited Chest Pain Center for the region.
“We are very proud to be a Chest Pain Accreditation at Cookeville Regional. We have been rated number one by HealthGrades in Tennessee for our cardiac services, coronary intervention and cardiology services,” said Bryant. “We are also beating the national goal of stopping a heart attack by a little more than half. The national goal is less than 90 minutes. Cookeville Regional’s is currently at an average of 44 minutes.”
CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) has been taught in the Upper Cumberland by several different facilities including Cookeville Regional. However, Putnam County EMS takes their job teaching CPR seriously as they have reached out and trained nearly 19,000 people in the region.
“We have a phenomenal EMS system here in Putnam County,” said Dr. Sullivan Smith, Putnam County EMS medical director and the emergency department medical director at Cookeville Regional. “CPR education is important. We see CPR save the lives of people in cardiac and non cardiac situations, and it is because people have been educated in this region.”
Another concern that both Bryant and Dr. Smith shared is that people are not calling 9-1-1 when they think they or a loved one is having a heart attack.
“Only 50 percent of heart attacks nationwide are calling 9-1-1. One misconception that we hear is that people believe that driving to the hospital versus calling 9-1-1 is a better option because they can get to the hospital faster. But when you call 9-1-1 and EMS arrives treatment starts immediately. Once they determine it is a heart attack, they initiate what we call a ‘Code 37’ and when the patient arrives in the hospital bay the cardiac cath team is waiting there for them. It truly is a team approach between EMS, the emergency department and the cardiac team,” said Bryant.
Smith added, “Calling 9-1-1 is critical in heart attack care. It saves time, heart muscles and lives. We don’t see enough patients coming into the ER by ambulance. The Code 37 program is used as a model for others. We are way ahead of the game in so many ways from the Carmen Burnett Foundation and city fire and EMS teaching CPR to Mended Hearts donating AEDs all over the community to the technological advancements we have in ambulances now and in our hospitals. The survival rates at Cookeville Regional are phenomenal thanks to these initiatives.”
If someone walks into the ER complaining of chest pain, they are immediately taken to the Chest Pain Center where an EKG is done.
“The EKG is read by a MD in 10 minutes and if it is determined that the patient is having a heart attack a ‘Code 37’ is initiated and a team of specialists come in and take care of the patient,” said Bryant.
The Code 37 program, EHAC education and CPR classes are just a few of the efforts that make the heart program at Cookeville Regional successful. Dr. Joshua Spencer, newest interventional cardiologist at Cookeville Regional, was drawn to Cookeville to practice because of the heart program that is in place.
“They are impressive. The doctors and all the support staff that is in place appealed to me. I knew there was a good system in place,” said Dr. Spencer. “Being from Tennessee, I knew there was a need between Knoxville and Nashville for heart attack patients because time is muscle when dealing with heart attacks.”
Bryant added, “This is a large area that we serve and we would love to get our services out more to even more areas.”
Early signs of a heart attack include nausea, shortness of breath, feeling of fullness, chest pressure, squeezing or discomfort, back pain, anxiety, jaw pain and pain down one or both arms. Signs and symptoms can vary in diabetics, women and men.
An average of 125 Code 37s come in to Cookeville Regional throughout the year.
To contact Brenda Davis-Bryant to host an early heart attack care educational seminar call 931.783.5373.