PORT TOWNSEND — Gordon Pomeroy, chief of East Jefferson Fire-Rescue, has been honored by the Washington Rural Health Association for his work in cooperation with Jefferson Healthcare hospital in treating patients with cardiac arrest in rural East Jefferson County.

“This had to do with some work that I was given credit for here in Jefferson County, which was really a team effort,” Pomeroy said.

Pomeroy was awarded the 2017 Outstanding Contribution to Rural Health Award at a ceremony at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Feb. 28.

According to Pomeroy, both Jefferson Healthcare and first responders from East Jefferson Fire-Rescue (EJFR) were struggling to treat cardiac arrests because of the distance patients had to travel to get medical treatment.

“Jefferson Healthcare is a critical-access health care hospital and usually wouldn’t deal with sick hearts,” Pomeroy said.

Jefferson County patients suffering from cardiac arrest have to be transported to Harrison Medical Center in Bremerton. That includes patients who walk into the hospital or are picked up on a 9-1-1 call.

A longer distance, and greater time before treatment, increases the risk of significant damage to the heart muscle.

To help resolve this issue, Jefferson Healthcare and the fire department worked together to implement a program of field thrombolytics in East Jefferson County for heart attacks, more precisely known as ST segment elevation myocardial infarction, or STEMI.

The medications given to patients as part of the program work to dissolve the clot that caused the heart attack, improving blood flow and preventing damage to tissue and organs.

“It may not completely unclog everything, but it buys us time,” Pomeroy said. “The time table for this drug is minutes, so it’s effective.”

Fire department responders have been trained along with hospital staff on how to administer the medication so they can administer it in the field or continue to administer the medication while transporting a patient from Jefferson Healthcare to Bremerton, he said.

The fire department implemented the program on a trial basis in 2009. It was approved by the state Department of Health in 2013 and is now implemented throughout East Jefferson County, Pomeroy said.

The fire department has treated more than 75 patients with the medication since 2013 and there have been no complications or deaths reported due to the drug, according to Pomeroy.

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Jefferson County Editor/Reporter Cydney McFarland can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 55052, or at cmcfarland@peninsuladailynews.com.