I hear folks talk about why is the hospital transferring out people to another hospital. Can’t we just treat them there? It’s a great question, and a straightforward answer.
Most transfers out of the hospital these days are for conditions that can be better treated in a larger, specially equipped hospital. These most common conditions are for heart attacks, strokes, and trauma, or for lack of a better term.. “The Big Three”.
The “big three” are the conditions that in the past, were the conditions the vast majority of people passed away from. Today, because of the advancement in emergency treatment, many of those patients can survive. These are also the conditions that have become the most focused treatments available in the heart centers, stroke centers and trauma centers in Salina, Wichita, Topeka and Kansas City. Salina has recently last January been certified as a Primary Stroke Center, which requires an extensive review of their services. Stroke Centers have been developed over many years and are excellent at what they do. This has occurred because they continued to see the volume of patients to get “good” at what they do, and afford the equipment to do it well.
So why are these transfer done so quickly? In healthcare, there is a saying.. “Time Is Tissue”. The quicker the patient is in the ER at the Hospital, the faster a decision can be made to get Air Transport moving and get the patient where they really should be, in one of the special focus centers, depending on the need for heart stroke or trauma. That first stop in the ER helps ensure that the patient will be at least stable for the transport and give vital information to the Center where the patient will ultimately go. For example, that stop for the evolving stroke can provide the drug to start to dissolve the clot while the patient is on the way to the Stroke Center in Wichita.
Once the patient is treated and released, they can return to the hospital for the needed follow up care for rehab to continue their recovery. This allows the patient to be close to home and allow the family easy access, especially during the winter weather season.
Updated/Correction (01/10/2018): In January 2017, “Salina Regional Health Center has been awarded Primary Stroke Center Certification by the Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program.”
Source: Salina Regional Health Center Press release – https://www.srhc.com/about-us/documents/StrokeRelease.1.16.17.pdf
Scott McIntyre