Although it took some convincing on their part, paramedic Madison Roam and EMT Zach Botterbush of Alton Memorial Hospital’s EMS team made a call this spring that earned them a Heart Heroes Award for the second quarter.

In April, Roam and Botterbush arrived at the home of a 67-year-old female in Wood River who had complaints of chest pain, diabetic problems, and shortness of breath since she woke up. Upon arrival of the EMS team, an EKG was obtained which showed that the patient was having a heart attack. The quick action and timely notification to the Christian Hospital ED by Madison and Zach resulted in the Heart Watch Team being activated within 10 minutes from obtaining the EKG.   

“But when we arrived, the first thing she said was that she didn’t need us to do anything,” Madison said. “But I told her if we didn’t act, she might not survive.”

When the patient arrived at the Christian Hospital ED, she was in extreme discomfort. The cardiologist along with the staff in the ED jumped into action and stabilized the patient prior to going to the cardiac cath lab 23 minutes after arrival.   

When the patient arrived in the cardiac cath lab, she was found to have multiple occlusions in multiple arteries, and one artery was completely blocked. The patient had an assist device placed to help support the heart.

The excellent care and quick assessments by all departments provided this patient an excellent outcome and displayed the commitment of all involved to serve the community.

“I am very proud of the swift action taken by Madison and Zach to activate the Heart Watch team and achieve an outstanding patient outcome,” said Brad Goacher, chief operations officer of Alton Memorial. “This is one example of a coordinated care effort that helps us provide world class care to residents of the River Bend.”

Each year, the Alton Memorial Health Services Foundation’s Duck Pluckers Ball raises funds for a new ambulance equipped with Zoll cardiac monitors and Bluetooth technology that allows for EKG testing while the ambulance is on the way to the hospital, saving valuable time and saving lives. This case serves as a testament to the value of that equipment.

The patient had a successful intervention 79 minutes after the first medical contact, which is excellent. She was extremely thankful for the excellent care she received by all departments and was eventually discharged home. 

The Heart Watch/STEMI Team at AMH and CH, which includes AMH stroke coordinator Jeremy Brown, have monthly nominations for the Heart Heroes, and select a quarterly winner from those three months. Michael Mulrean and Travis Koogler from AMH were the EMS nominees for May.

Pictured above: Paramedic Madison Roam (center) and EMT Zach Botterbush (second from left) of Alton Memorial Hospital’s EMS team made a call this spring that earned them a Heart Heroes Award for the second quarter. The STEMI Team at AMH and Christian Hospital have monthly nominations for the Heart Heroes, and select a quarterly winner from those three months. Presenting the awards were Jason Bowman, manager of AMH EMS (far left), Danielle Redmon and Jamie Stevens, Safety and Quality nurses with the STEMI team at AMH and CH. Not pictured is Jeremy Brown of the STEMI team and stroke coordinator at AMH.