CARDIAC CARE CONFERENCE TOPIC

CAPE GIRARDEAU - Cardiac care will be the focus of the fourth annual air medical emergency conference sponsored by Southeast Missouri Hospital and its LifeBeat Air Medical Service.

Cardiac care covers the first crucial hour following a heart attack to subsequent emergency and interventional treatment.

Directed toward emergency and primary care physicians and registered nurses, this year's conference, "Your Cardiac Patient: Hour 1 and Hour 2," is scheduled to be held Saturday at the Holiday Inn Convention Center. The conference runs from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

For physicians, application has been made for AMA, Category I CME credit, as well as AAFP, AOA, and ACEP credits by the American College of Emergency Physicians. Application has also been made through the Missouri Nurses Association for CME credits for registered nurses who are conference participants.

"Our conference themes for the past three years have been on trauma care," said LifeBeat Program Director Anita Toole. "Because of the growth of Southeast's Regional Heart Center and the increase in the number of cardiac patient transfers and referrals, the conference committee this year chose to focus on (the) heart."

Open heart surgery began at Southeast in the fall of 1984. Since then, more than 1,300 open heart surgeries and more than 7,900 diagnostic cardiac cath and cardiac therapeutic procedures have been performed, said Toole.

Keynote speakers for this year's conference are Drs. Denise Janosik, and Frank Aguirre, both of St. Louis. Janosik is associated with the Department of Cardiology's Electrophysiology Lab at St. Louis University.

Also serving as conference faculty are Cape Girardeau Drs. Gordon L. Haycraft, cardiology; James B. Chapman, cardiology; and Lyle L. Brown, cardiovascular surgery.

Since its inauguration in August 1987, LifeBeat has provided emergency care response within a 150-mile radius of the tri-state area. During the past year, LifeBeat responded to 675 requests for emergency air medical service from more than 40 hospitals and 40 ambulance services or other emergency first responders, Southeast Hospital reported.

Physicians and nurses may obtain more information or register for the 1991 LifeBeat conference by calling the LifeBeat Communications Center, 651-5855.