DCMH has been ranked #1 in the nation for having the fastest median time to transfer a patient to another facility for acute coronary intervention by CMS.
CMS, or Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is the U.S. federal agency that helps users find information about the quality of care at over 4,000 Medicare-certified hospitals across the nation.
This rating from CMS considers the time from when a patient enters Decatur County Memorial Hospital with a heart attack to the time, in minutes, in which a patient can be transferred to another hospital, if necessary. Decatur County Memorial Hospital is a Critical Access Hospital (CAH). This designation is designed to improve access to healthcare by keeping essential services in rural communities. DCMH develops agreements with acute care hospitals related to patient referral and transfer, communication, and emergency and non-emergency patient transportation to receive the designation.
Interim Executive Director for Nursing Katie Lykins said, “The dedication and hard work of DCMH team members allows for life-saving measures like this to be possible. DCMH’s impeccable efficiency, ability to think, move quickly, and involve several teams allows us to put our patients first in every situation.”