Commitment to Exceptional Cardiac Care at CCH

GILLETTE, Wyo. - June 27, 2024 - Campbell County Health (CCH) is dedicated to providing exceptional care for our community. Here we want to explore the services of our Cardiac Catheterization (Cath) Lab. At the heart of our Cath Lab’s success is our highly skilled team led by Alyssa Blazek, RT(R)(CT), Cardiac Cath Lab Manager. Alyssa and her team, which includes specialized nurses and rad techs, handle every aspect of patient care with precision and dedication requiring extensive training and certification. It takes the right fit and substantial commitment to work in the Cath Lab. The team’s duties are extensive and include scheduling, patient reminder calls, collection of medical information, pre- and post-op care, managing supplies, and ensuring our lab equipment meets the highest standards through rigorous quality control.

Comprehensive Cardiac Services

From January to May 2024, our Cath Lab performed an average of 11 left heart catheterizations per month, a critical procedure that involves injecting contrast into the coronary arteries. The Cath Lab does far more than treat those experiencing a heart attack. Additionally, our team alongside providers in multiple disciplines offer a wide range of procedures, including right heart catheterizations for pulmonary hypertension, implantation of loop recorders, pacemakers, implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs), smart ports for oncology patients, tunneled catheters for dialysis, fistula grams, and various other venous procedures.

High Standards and Excellence

Currently our Cath Lab is open Monday through Friday during daytime hours. Our cardiologists are on call 24/7 to respond to cardiac emergencies, supported by our robust EMS services, ensuring that patients can be stabilized, treated locally, and, if necessary, transferred swiftly to higher-level care facilities.

With respect to cardiac emergencies, we are particularly proud of our door-to-balloon time, which measures the time from a heart attack patient’s arrival to the inflation of a balloon in the occluded artery. The national standard is 90 minutes, but we set our goal at 60 minutes, even achieving times under 50 minutes. This commitment to rapid response highlights our dedication to patient outcomes, as "time is muscle" in heart attack situations.

CCH’s expertise in handling cardiac emergencies has earned it multiple accolades from the American College of Cardiology’s National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDR). The organization has previously received both Silver and Gold recognitions, and in 2021, it achieved Platinum recognition, a distinction it has maintained each year since. To obtain the Platinum Performance Achievement Award, hospitals must demonstrate sustained high performance in critical areas of heart attack and chest pain care, including timely diagnosis, effective treatment, and improved patient outcomes. Last year, CCH was the only hospital in Wyoming to receive the Platinum Performance Award, highlighting that excellent, award-winning care is available right here close to home.

Looking Forward

While fiscal and operational limitations in rural healthcare settings are a reality, our commitment to quality care is strong. We are proud to provide services to our community that many rural and frontier areas simply cannot. However, it is important that we also acknowledge that Excellence Every Day means we always strive for better for our patients and our community. Therefore, we are actively exploring ways to expand our Cath Lab hours in a responsible and sustainable manner to strategically reduce patient transfers and enhance care right here close to home. We hope to have more information to share with you in the near future on how we plan to accomplish this.

Campbell County Health is devoted to delivering top-tier cardiac care, striving to exceed the services typically afforded rural America. At CCH, our team's expertise, dedication to continuous process improvements, and commitment to high-quality patient care ensure that together, we provide exceptionally capable and caring support when you need it most.

About Campbell County Health (CCH): An affiliate of UCHealth, CCH includes Campbell County Memorial Hospital, an acute care community hospital in Gillette Wyoming; Campbell County Medical Group with nearly 20 clinics; The Legacy Living & Rehabilitation Center long-term care center and the Powder River Surgery Center. With around 80 providers, 1,200 total staff and over 20 specialties, CCH is committed to serving our community by providing a lifetime of care with dedication, skill and compassion.

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