"The Goal of the Washington American College of Cardiology is to improve Cardiovascular health for residents of Washington State through education, care, and advocacy."   Cardiac & Stroke Legislation UPDATE  Did you know that less than half of all people who have a heart attack in Washington are treated with primary PCI? And, fewer than three percent of people

· Resources to diagnose and treat heart attacks and strokes vary greatly, especially in rural areas.

· Often people having a heart attack or stroke are transported to the nearest hospital only to be transferred to another hospital with specialists.

· In many areas, ambulances are not automatically directed to hospitals that can treat heart attack and stroke.

· In rural areas, there are also fewer paramedics than in urban areas. Paramedics are qualified to do electrocardiograms (ECG) in the field, which help diagnose heart attack so that hospital teams can be ready to treat. 

In 2006 the Washington state Emergency Medical Service and Trauma (EMS/T) Steering Committee called for a report that outlined these disparities in emergency cardiac and stroke care. Those findings lead to the formation of an ongoing Emergency Cardiac and Stroke Technical Advisory Committee (ECS TAC) to make recommendations to develop and improve the system of care for emergency cardiac and stroke patients. The American Heart Association supports this work and is working with partners to pass a bill in 2010 to bring attention to the need for coordinated systems and to reduce disparities in care statewide. Within the bill…

· Hospitals can voluntarily identify to Department of Health (DOH) their heart disease and stroke capabilities.

· DOH will share this information with EMS and create triage and transport protocols around it.

· DOH will collect data from hospitals and report back to the legislature in two years how the system is working.

· Data shared with DOH and regional EMS/T quality improvement forums will be exempt from disclosure.

· All work will be done within WA’s grant from the CDC. 

The report and its recommendations can be found at: http://www.doh.wa.gov/cfh/heart_stroke/For_Healthcare/ECSreport.htm.

The American Heart Association appreciates your support and input on this work. For more information, contact Lianna Collinge at aminc1@comcast.net .

Important Links to Help You

Washington State Medical Association
www.wsma.org

Washington State Department of Health
www3.doh.wa.gov/policyreview/

ACC State Advocacy
http://www.acc.org/advocacy/state_center/state.htm