Tracking the use of intra aortic balloon pump usage in the cardiac cath lab. Hired a Quality Specialist for the Cardiovascular Services area. This individual will oversee all of the data collection and add consistency to the entry and review of all data submissions.

Beginning September 2005 a new STEMI team was created. Changes to our STEMI process included, initiating the EKG assessment within 5 minutes in the Triage area of the ED, members of the Cardiac Cath Team come directly to the ED to begin an assessment and placement of lines and in January 2006 we implemented the process that ED would notify the interventional cardiologist directly. All members of the ED have been re-educated regarding the importance of the timing elements associated with chest pain patients. Since July 2006 we have been at 100% compliance.

We have issued a Request for Proposal to all Board Certified Intensivists to respond with the intent to hire one group for exclusive coverage of the ICU's. The proposal was drafted based upon the Leapfrog standards. This past year the Medical Executive Committee and Governing Board approved the hiring of one group. This will be implemented in Jan, 2007. RFP's were distributed in September 2006.