Beaufort Memorial staff simulate heart attack emergency, care flight transfer

BEAUFORT, S.C. (WTOC) - Beaufort Memorial Hospital staff practiced responding to a serious heart attack simulation Friday, running through each step from a patient’s arrival at the emergency department to a care flight transfer on the helipad.

The drill was designed to give medical professionals additional practice, so response is quicker in a real scenario.

“Time is muscle when it comes to a heart attack, so we’re really trying to cut down on that time in between recognition and treatment,” said Ashley Morales, a patient safety quality specialist at Beaufort Memorial.

Simulation covers full transfer process

Staff also heard directly from the care flight team about the procedures required for a successful patient transfer. Care flight nurses described a process called a “hot load,” in which hospital staff bring the patient to the back doors of the hospital, the flight crew switches the patient to their equipment, and the patient is loaded into the helicopter while it is still running.

“For helicopter EMS, I think just being able to get a patient to and from a facility very fast, especially these trauma patients,” said Sara Melton, a care flight nurse.

Care flight paramedic Jeremy Hunt said injury patterns can vary even in similar emergencies. “A similar car wreck — the injury process is going to be a little different from each one,” Hunt said.

Annual drills aimed at better patient outcomes

Beaufort Memorial said it aims to run a simulation at least once a year. Morales said the exercises have a direct impact on staff readiness.

“Having these drills helps us prepare and cut down time so we are looking at timely treatment which leads to better patient outcomes and that’s really the community is why we do this,” Morales said.

According to the CDC, an American suffers a heart attack every 40 seconds. Beaufort Memorial wants to remind their community that prevention is the best practice and eating a healthy diet and regular exercise are key in helping to prevent a heart attack.