West Shore Medical Center part of 11-hospital project in northern Michigan

The "STEMI Initiative of Northern Lower Michigan," which includes West Shore Medical Center, recently was recognized by the Michigan Health and Hospital Association for its impact in the region. 

A certificate of commendation signed by MHA President Spencer Johnson recognizes the initiative for its "valuable and important community benefit to the residents of lower northern Michigan. In doing so, this program has helped to improve Michigan's health status." 

The STEMI project, launched in the summer of 2009, involves 11 hospitals in northern Michigan and several EMS agencies. The project's goal is to develop a regional system for ST segment elevation myocardial infarction or "STEMI" care. A STEMI is a severe heart attack that results from a blocked artery. National statistics show more than 400,000 people in the U.S. suffer this kind of heart attack each year. An average of one a day occurs in northern Michigan. 

 "This is an initiative that is saving lives across the region," said Burton Parks, President of West Shore Medical Center. "We're proud to be a part of this effort with the other hospitals in northern Michigan and thankful for the recognition from the MHA." 

Guidelines created by the American Heart Association based on international research findings call for patients who experience a STEMI to be treated through percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) within 90 minutes. This involves inserting a catheter with a balloon device into the groin artery and maneuvering it up to the blockage site to open the obstruction. 

Patients who arrive at West Shore Medical Center with a STEMI are transferred to Munson Medical Center in Traverse City. Munson and Northern Michigan Regional Hospital in Petoskey are the only two hospitals with facilities for PCI in the northern Lower Peninsula. 

In addition to West Shore Medical Center, Munson, and Northern Michigan, hospitals participating in the STEMI initiative include Alpena Regional Medical Center, Charlevoix Area Hospital, Cheboygan Memorial Hospital, Kalkaska Memorial Health Center, Mercy Hospital Cadillac, Mercy Hospital Grayling, Otsego Memorial Hospital in Gaylord, and Paul Oliver Memorial Hospital in Frankfort.