FOX4: Saint Luke's earns special distinction for life-saving heart attack treatment
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services unveiled the hospitals in the state that have achieved the Missouri Time Critical Diagnosis (TCD) STEMI designation. The TCD STEMI designation is designed to help first responders quickly identify hospitals best equipped to treat STEMI patients.
A STEMI or ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction is a very serious type of heart attack in which one of the heart’s major arteries is blocked. As the most dangerous type of heart attack, a STEMI requires advanced levels of treatment and time is critical, meaning EMS providers must be able to quickly identify the closest hospital equipped to provide the appropriate level of care in order to give the patient the best chance for survival.
Saint Luke’s Health System is proud to announce that all five of our Missouri hospitals are Time Critical Diagnosis Centers for STEMI.
Level Designations
- Level 1 Centers offer the highest level of specialized care for the most complex cases.
- Level II Centers offer specialized care to high volumes of patients, drawing from a large geographic area.
- Level III Centers off regional access to the TCD system and refer to a higher level of specialized care if needed.
- Level IV Centers offer TCD access in rural areas. Patients are stabilized and transferred to a higher level of care.
Saint Luke’s Hospital Designations
- Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City
- TCD Level I
- STEMI Center Type: Comprehensive Cardiac Center, Primary AMI Center, Cardiac Surgical Intervention
- Saint Luke’s Hospital is the only Joint Commission-certified Comprehensive Cardiac Center and Level I TCD STEMI designated center in the Midwest
- Saint Luke’s East Hospital
- TCD Level II
- STEMI Center Type: Primary AMI (acute myocardial infarction) Center
- Saint Luke’s North Hospital
- TCD Level II
- STEMI Center Type: Primary AMI Center
- Hedrick Medical Center
- TCD Level IV
- STEMI Center Type: Critical Access Designation
- Wright Memorial Hospital
- TCD Level IV
- STEMI Center Type: Critical Access Designation
In 2015, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services announced similar TCD designations for stroke care. All five Saint Luke’s hospitals in Missouri are recognized as TCD Stroke Centers as well.
More information on the state of Missouri’s TCD system is available by visiting Missouri's Time Critical Diagnosis System.
Two years ago, Rick Worrel today experienced sudden cardiac arrest while running in a 5K with his daughter. Rick's heart completely stopped for almost 15 minutes before being revived by EMS and transported to Saint Luke’s Hospital. He is back running that same 5K with his daughter. Watch his story below.