» Have a heart, save a heart

Thursday, November 12, 2009 | 1 comment(s) Southern Coos Health Foundation is encouraging the community to help upgrade and expand the capacity of the cardiac monitoring system for the patients at Southern Coos Hospital.

Known as Have a Heart, Save a Heart, the goal of the campaign is to raise $65,000.

“We recently had a 92-year-old patient who came into our emergency department who was unresponsive,” said chief nursing officer Lonnie Scarborough. “We placed her on the monitor and immediately identified that she had a heart irregularity. She was given medication and admitted to our medical surgical floor while continuing to be monitored. She became more responsive to the mediation and was discharged with no further complications. Without the ability to monitor, she would likely have been immediately flown to Sacred Heart, miles away from family and friends.”

While she was being monitored on the floor two additional patients needed to be placed on a monitor, Scarborough said.

“We completely maxed out our current system,” she added. “While we did not need to monitor anyone else, this increased volume identified the need to expand the hospital’s current cardiac monitoring capabilities to better serve the people of our community.”

The hospital’s current heart monitoring system was purchased 10 years ago when the new hospital opened. Much has changed in electronics during that decade. The current system’s capacity has been maximized, and though it is adequate, a new system will provide greater accuracy, mobility for patients and no chance of interference from radio or similar signals. “With your help, this campaign will raise funds to upgrade and expand the telemetry available to patients in Bandon,” said David Koch, president of Southern Coos Health Foundation Board.

Donations to help buy this capital improvement can be made on line at www.southerncoos.org/ foundation; by mailing a check to Southern Coos Health Foundation, PO Box 1933, Bandon, 97411, or by coming to the foundation office at 1107 June Ave. or the hospital lobby. Donations to Southern Coos Health Foundation are tax-deductible as allowed by law.

The heart monitoring system helps people with heart conditions, whether serious or minor.

The campaign will also buy the software necessary for cardiologists at Sacred Heart in Springfield to be able to read EKGs performed at Southern Coos. Having this connectivity will allow the specialists to instruct on the most appropriate intervention.