Telemetry & Training Improves Cardiac Care
For iron-clad evidence on how donations can transform the lives of patients, donors need to look no further thank the impact of philanthropy on cardiac care at Langley Memorial Hospital (LMH).
Funds raised through the 2023 gala and through individual gifts allowed the Foundation to purchase advanced telemetry equipment for the cardiac care unit that otherwise would not have been available here in Langley.
The funds purchased advanced telemetry equipment - bedside monitors that continuously track patients’ cardiac health in real time - for LMH’s cardiac care unit. By May 2024, all 13 beds in the hospital’s north tower were equipped with telemetry monitors.
The impact was immediate. In June 2023, before the new equipment arrived, cardiac patients monitored with telemetry stayed in the hospital an average of three days (75 hours). By October 2024, just five months after the new telemetry units were installed, the average stay had dropped to just under 24 hours - a 33 per cent reduction.
Telemetry, Training Improves Cardiac Care
Telemetry monitors each patient’s heart rhythm through bedside units connected to displays at the nursing station. This allows medical staff to detect cardiac patterns such as arrhythmia or atrial fibrillation (when the heart beats too fast and in an irregular fashion).
After admission to the Cardiac Care Unit (CCU), patients undergo diagnostic tests including blood work, echocardiograms and chest X-rays. Throughout their stay, the telemetry system provides constant surveillance, allowing medical staff to intervene when it detects abnormal activity.
“[This expansion] has been a huge help. We are taking patients to the telemetry unit as soon as we admit them,” says Dr. Daniel Negash, LMH internal medicine specialist. This immediate transition from emergency care to the CCU has eliminated bottlenecks in patient flow.
The most significant improvement has been in Emergency Department efficiency, according to Dr. Negash.
“The number one and most important thing is the length of ER stay. The ER is very busy, and the nurses are very busy. The physicians are very busy and cannot look after all these patients. So a longer stay in Emergency means higher mortality.”
Before the expansion, cardiac patients were often moved multiple times during their hospital stay. Now, with the CCU fully equipped with dedicated telemetry-monitored beds, staff can focus on cardiac patients in one secure, specialized location.
“The nurses are trained how to read ECGs on the telemetry monitor, how to set the alarm, and how to interpret the data, when to call the physician for red flags in arrhythmia or signs of heart attack during hospitalization,” Dr. Negash says.