Three Provena Health hospitals recently received over $420,000 in Cy Pres funds. These funds will be applied toward equipment replacements and upgrades for emergency care.
Provena United Samaritans Medical Center in Danville, IL, was awarded $350,000 to upgrade their Wireless Medical Telemetry system. This system uses radio frequencies between a patient-worn transmitter and central monitoring station to allow remote monitoring of vitals, such as heart rate, electrocardiogram (ECG), respiration rates and blood pressure, as the patient is moved through the hospital. This allows greater mobility and comfort for the patient, as well as increased safety and care.
Provena St. Mary’s Hospital in Kankakee, IL, was awarded $45,866 to purchase two 12-lead EKG monitors, which allow emergency medical service (EMS) providers to quickly determine the severity of a patient’s Acute Coronary Syndrome symptoms. The 12-lead EKG can take 12 different recordings of the heart at the same time, each from a different position in relation to the heart – usually different locations on the arms, legs and chest – and also include built-in defibrillators.
Based on the readings from the 12-lead EKG, EMS can alert the hospital while the patient is en-route if a Cardiac Catheterization Lab is needed, allowing the hospital to prepare for the patient before arrival. Early catheterization is proven to reduce the need for open-heart surgery.
Provena Covenant Medical Center was awarded $27,782 to replace their Advanced Life Support (ALS) Emergency Radio System. This radio system allows the hospital’s emergency department staff to communicate with EMS, conducting an initial assessment, life-saving intervention, and stabilization until arrival at the emergency department – taking these steps before arrival can save time and increase a patient’s chance for survival. All communication done through the ALS system is recorded for quality assurance purposes.
The Cy Pres Funds awarded to Provena were the result of a class action lawsuit that asserted the unconstitutionality of an Infrastructure Maintenance Fee that was imposed on wireless retailers from January 1997 – February 2002. The applicants that receive funds, including the Provena Health hospitals, will provide the Cy Pres committee with a certification from a certified public accountant verifying that the grant funds were used in accordance with the formal applications submitted.
