Time Sensitive Emergencies in Boundary County

Time Sensitive Emergencies in Boundary County

Recent news events have highlighted the statewide Time Sensitive Emergency (TSE) initiative in Boundary County.  A tree falling on someone working in their yard has the Boundary Ambulance Service paramedics working with Boundary Community Hospital Emergency Department physicians to call in Life Flight Network to transport the patient directly by air to the nearest Trauma Center.  Then a heart attack on a rainy day is rapidly treated in the Emergency Department and transported swiftly by ambulance directly to the Cardiac Catheterization Lab at Kootenai Health. These are but two prime examples of coordinated care when TIME is critical.

The 2014 Idaho Legislature approved and funded a plan to develop a statewide Time Sensitive Emergency system of care that includes three of the top five causes of death in Idaho: trauma, stroke, and heart attack. To introduce our community to TSE, Dr. Stu Willis, Emergency Department Director at Boundary Community Hospital and representatives from Boundary Ambulance will be speaking to the community about “What You Need to Know About Heart Attack, Stroke and Trauma” on Tuesday, November 29th at 5:30 pm at the University of Idaho Extension Office.

Boundary Community Hospital Emergency Department staff work closely with the Boundary Ambulance EMTs and paramedics and Life Flight Network personnel to design system-wide processes and procedures for expedited care based on the state and regional guidelines. This initiative has put strategies in place so the RIGHT PATIENT gets the RIGHT CARE at the RIGHT TIME, helping to ensure an optimal outcome, especially when TIME is a life-threatening factor.

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