Cardiac and Stroke Care (CSC) Subcommittee

Purpose and Scope

The 2006 Institute of Medicine (IOM) Report Emergency Medical Services at the Crossroads, reported significant challenges facing the EMS system nationally, and Kentucky faces similar issues. Kentucky is large and diverse with contrasting regional needs. It has large rural areas with EMS systems sometimes staffed by volunteers and without easy access to PCI and Stroke care centers. EMS providers operate on multiple sets of clinical protocols making it difficult to assure that all Cardiac and Stroke patients receive the same standard of care across the Commonwealth.

There is limited regional access to PCI and Stroke care centers due to census, finance, and issues of specialist recruitment. The purpose of the CSC is to assemble a panel of experts from rural and urban areas of Kentucky to evaluate systems of care both in and out of the hospital setting, to identify opportunities for improvement, implement interventions targeting improvement, and to evaluate successes and challenges incorporating sustainability. This collaborative effort among disciplines shall allow individuals from rural and urban areas to discuss the needs of their specific communities, and break down barriers to advanced care in all areas of our state.

Specifically, the Cardiac and Stroke Care subcommittee shall:

Identify and convene experts and partners to guide the statewide approach to definitive treatment of Cardiac and Stroke cases and recommend project interventions.
Implement and evaluate a comprehensive AMI and Stroke access assessment targeting 120 counties in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Collaborate with system engineers to analyze EMS system capabilities and the capabilities of regional healthcare facilities and specialty care centers.
Begin implementation of quality improvement initiatives prioritized by expert groups.
Identify policy initiatives based on the findings of the assessment and the expert group recommendations.
Promote and advocate for educational programs, protocol updates and a regionalized
EMS system of care.
Establish a minimum data set for Cardiac and Stroke care that can be reported by EMS Systems
& Healthcare facilities for ongoing research.
Implement a reassessment to evaluate progress, remaining challenges, and clarify questions on the initial assessment.
Develop a gap analysis for ongoing evaluation of progress and strategy success with identification of future steps.

From KBEMS Board Chair John Holder: Pursuant to 202 KAR 7:020 and my authority as the Chair of the Kentucky Board of Emergency Medical Services, I hereby appoint the following membership to KBEMS Standing Committees and Subcommittees for a one (1) year term from December 1, 2024 - November 30, 2025.