MedStar Health Proudly Announces MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center’s Re-Designation as a Maryland STEMI Center

CLINTON, Md. - MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center was re-designated a Maryland STEMI (ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction) Center, also known as a Cardiac Intervention Center (CIC), by the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services System (MIEMSS). The designation recognizes the hospital’s rapid response to receiving and immediately caring for patients experiencing a STEMI, the most common type of heart attack, leading to improved patient outcomes.

“Receiving re-designation as a STEMI Center demonstrates the seamless collaboration and close working relationship between emergency medical services (EMS), our emergency department (ED), and the various hospital providers and departments working together and quickly to save lives of patients throughout our community,” stated Stephen Michaels, MD, FAAOS, FACHE, president, MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center and senior vice president, MedStar Health.

The hospital’s process is streamlined, beginning with a close partnership with EMS crews. STEMI patients coming through the ED are quickly stabilized and prepped for the cardiac catheterization (cath) lab where coronary artery interventions are expertly performed before being transferred to the cardiac ICU. The ED’s dedicated STEMI kits include defibrillator pads, electrodes, and IV supplies, all items needed to prepare the patient for rapid transport to the cardiac cath lab.

The MIEMSS on-site survey, which concluded in June 2024, included a tour of the hospital, interviews with multidisciplinary care teams and providers, and observations in the emergency department, interventional cardiology, intensive care, and cardiac/telemetry units.

Over the past several years, MedStar Southern Maryland has been committed to developing its cardiac interventional center to serve the needs of the community by:

• Completing construction of a new ED that positioned the cardiac cath lab adjacent to the ED. The hospital has provided ongoing investment in and support of interventional cardiology research and advanced technologies such as cardiac MRI, cardiac CT, and ultrasound.
• Adopting best practice models such as the shock team for expedited management of cardiogenic shock and the use of a STEMI kit and other resources to support streamlined STEMI activation care in the ED.
• Developing an innovative model for STEMI patient education.
• The hospital’s cath lab interventionalists have adopted the use of the radial cardiac catheterization approach, a minimally invasive procedure where a catheter is inserted into the radial artery in the wrist to the arteries of the heart to break up blockages, reducing post-catheterization bleeding and other complications.
• Supporting the coronary care patient population through the addition of complementary cardiac clinical expertise and services such as the advanced heart failure program.

“These exemplary results come from a collaborative effort by multiple departments including the ED, cardiology services, ICU, quality, nursing, and medical staff among others,” added Chile Ahaghotu, MD, MBA, MHL, FACS, vice president of medical affairs and chief medical officer at MedStar Southern Maryland. “The survey outcome reinforces our commitment to being the premier hospital in the region.”