Foundation of YRMC donates heart monitor to Tri-Valley Ambulance

Device diagnoses East County patients in transport

Thanks to generous donations, when the Tri-Valley Ambulance Service now transports a critical heart patient from eastern Yuma County, patients arrive at Yuma Regional Medical Center diagnosed and ready for expedited treatment. Much of the crucial information they need comes from a complex device with a simple name, the cardiac monitor.

Generous donors to the Foundation of YRMC have made it possible for the Tri-Valley team to purchase this new, life-saving device.

The precision cardiac monitor checks a patient’s heart rhythm, according to Richard Nix, emergency medical services chief of the nonprofit Tri-Valley Ambulance. “And, if the patient needs their heart restored to a normal rhythm, the cardiac monitor does it.”

In the ambulance, paramedics and emergency medical technicians do what the hospital would do if they were diagnosing the patient in the Emergency Department. They can quickly diagnose heart attacks.

If a patient needs defibrillation or a temporary pacemaker, the cardiac monitor provides that medical assistance.

“The cardiac monitor is vital for patients coming in from East County, advancing care in the community by getting a head start on heart attacks, heart failure and other cardiac emergencies,” explained Dr. Robert Trenschel, president and CEO of YRMC. “We are incredibly grateful for our donors whose generous giving made this purchase possible.”

When the doctors and nurses meet a Tri-Valley patient at the Emergency Department doors, they have a solid diagnosis, allowing them to quickly determine next steps or go straight to the cath lab. There, a cardiac care team is ready to provide life-saving treatment.

The Foundation of YRMC Board of Trustees recognized the many lives this technology purchase will save, and enthusiastically supported this innovative request.

“We are so thankful for the Tri-Valley Ambulance paramedics and EMTs,” said Margie Dallabetta, who chairs the foundation, “and thankful for those who have given to make the purchase of the cardiac machine possible.”

This is indispensable heart care equipment, Nix added. “We use it on every single cardiac patient, without fail. However, our small-but-mighty ambulance service would not be able to afford the heart monitor on our own. We are very grateful to the donors to the Foundation of YRMC and their support of our lifesaving efforts.”

There is yet another challenge to Tri-Valley Ambulance when emergencies arise: distance. The YRMC Emergency Department is 30 or more minutes away from the communities it serves.

However, this fall, YRMC will open a closer Emergency Department on its new Foothills Campus.

For many injuries and illnesses, the new Foothills location will be the fastest care option for emergency services for East County patients. It will also be more convenient for East County residents who are driving themselves to seek treatment for non-emergency sprains, aches, stings, cuts, strains, pains, bites and more.