By Elana Gordon
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kcur/local-kcur-708107.mp3
Kansas City, MO – The Missouri House and Senate have unanimously approved a bill to expand the state's emergency response system. The legislation allows the state to designate hospitals as special emergency centers for strokes and STEMI heart attacks. The conditions are among the leading causes of death in Missouri. Jane Drummond is Director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, and says once the system is in place, an individual who suffers from either of those ailments will have a higher chance of survival.
Drummond: An ambulance can take that person to the nearest center as opposed to the nearest hospital. And what that does is allow that person to get the right medical care in the right medical place in the right time because those facilities will be specifically set up to treat those conditions.
Governor Blunt is expected to approve the legislation, which will make Missouri the first state in the country to establish this type of system.
Funding for health care coverage on KCUR has been provided by the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City.
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