The Medical Center Foundation Healthy Journey Funding Initiativefor ECMO

Amount requested: Primary objective: Impact:

$500,000 for two additional ECMO units.

expand current ECMO program from 2 units to 4 units. This system provides supportive therapy to a patient, temporarily taking over lung function for a defined period of time, allowing physical recovery from injury or disease.

ExtracorporealMembrane

Oxygenation

ECMO

increase the number of lives that can be saved.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a treatment that uses a pump to circulate blood through an artificial lung back

into the bloodstream. During ECMO, blood is drained from the vascular system, circulated outside the body by a mechanical

pump, and then reinfused into the circulation. This system has been used on infants for years and is now used on adults whose

lungs cannot provide oxygen to their blood. ECMO is a highly complicated process and can only be performed by clinicians with

training and experience in its initiation, maintenance, and discontinuation. ECMO is a supportive therapy rather than disease

modifying treatment in itself, providing oxygenated blood to sustain life during medical interventions or while the body heals from

disease or injury.

Northeast Georgia Medical Center’s first ECMO was performed before the hospital’s planned launch date in order to save the life of a young mother-to-be (see Case Study next page.)

Why Now?ECMO for adults has made remarkable improvement in recent years. According to the National Institute of Health,“ECMO has become more reliable with improvement in equipment, and increased experi-ence, which is reflected in lifesaving results.”

A care team at NGMC successfully began using ECMO last year before scheduled implementation, due to an emergency case involving Harley, a young expectant mother who contracted H1N1. (See the case study below.)

How many will be served?Fortunately, ECMO is not a procedure with high patient volumes. But the reality is, if patients need ECMO and ECMO systems are not available, people will die. The hospital currently has two units, and though it is a new service, there are occassions when both are in use at the same time. ECMO beds are limited in the entire state and transfers to distant facilities can cost valuable time which these patients do not have. Two additional units will provide life-saving care for our region.

2018 2019$250,000 $250,000

How will the money be used?Each unit costs $250,000. The request for Healthy Journey funding is for two units totalling $500,000.

ECMO is not a revenue generator; but once in place, the units will support their operational costs. The units have a useful life measured in years and require no additional staff or resources.

PartnershipsECMO is a hospital-based treatment, provided through the expertise of trauma, cardiovascular and critical care physicians supported by highly trained clinical staff.

Measurable Outcomes:The program’s success will be measured by our health system’s ability to care for patients who need the service.

Twenty-year-old Harley Cook’s first

pregnancy was going beautifully. She was

34-weeks along and eagerly preparing for

the upcoming arrival of little Olivia. When

a sudden high fever prompted an emergency

room visit, Harley was diagnosed with

H1N1, also known as Swine Flu. Because

of Harley’s compromised breathing, the

decision was made to perform an emergency

C-section to deliver Olivia. After the

delivery, Harley’s health continued

to decline.

“Conventional therapies had failed to

support the function of Harley’s lungs,” says

Allison Dupont, MD, an interventional

cardiologist with The Heart Center of

NGMC. “If we didn’t help her quickly, she

would die.”

The critical care team at NGMC

Gainesville contacted the only two Atlan-

ta-area hospitals known to offer ECMO,

but both hospitals were full.

“The ECMO procedure is for the sickest

of the sick,” says Craig Brown, MD, a

pulmonologist with Northeast Georgia

Diagnostic Clinic and a member of

Harley’s care team. “When a patient has

severe dysfunction of the lungs and/or

heart, ECMO essentially takes over lung

function – and heart function, when

necessary – which takes stress off the body

and allows it to focus on healing.”

“We were weeks away from starting our

own ECMO service,” adds Dr. Dupont,

medical director of the ECMO service at

NGMC. “Our team had been trained and

we were in the process of checking final

administrative details. But, when we found

out the other two hospitals couldn’t help

Harley, we realized we had to accelerate our

plans to

save her.

There were

no guarantees,

but we had to try –

because Harley was going to die

without ECMO.”

NGMC granted emergency privileges for

the procedure; and Dr. Dupont and her

partner, Dr. Mark Leimbach, put Harley

into an induced coma and started the

ECMO service. Just four days later, Harley

was breathing on her own.

“This team worked together tirelessly to

save Harley,” says Dr. Dupont. “They acted

decisively and within days Harley was

holding Olivia.”

Case Study: Harley Cook

For more information or to donate online visit TheMedicalCenterFoundation.org/ecmo or call 770-219-8099.