Iberia Medical Center: Special Designation for Heart Attack Care

Iberia Medical Center has earned a special designation for heart attack care.  The Louisiana Emergency Response Network (LERN) recognizes Iberia Medical Center’s Main Campus as a STEMI Receiving Center, an elite designation for hospitals meeting or exceeding national guidelines for heart attack care.

What is a STEMI Heart Attack?

STEMI, or ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction, is a serious heart attack caused by a lack of blood flow to large areas of the heart. Patients experiencing these critical types of heart attacks require immediate medical intervention to restore blood flow and minimize damage. As a designated STEMI Receiving Center Iberia Medical Center’s Main Campus is equipped to deliver potential lifesaving treatment by reopening blocked arteries within 90 minutes, meeting the national standard for STEMI care.

Importance of Designation

This lifesaving criteria ensures that patients experiencing chest pain or heart attacks receive the fastest, most effective treatment available. This designation means that Iberia Medical Center’s Main Campus can quickly assess, diagnose and provide interventional heart attack-related care, significantly improving outcomes. 

“This designation reflects our ongoing commitment to providing high-quality, timely emergency cardiac care to our community,” said Dionne Viator, CEO. “As one of a few hospitals in the region with this designation, our Main Campus team and life-saving technology is available 24/7. Fast response to heart attacks means we are saving lives.”

What is the Louisiana Emergency Response Network (LERN)

The Louisiana Emergency Response Network (LERN) is an agency of state government created by the Louisiana Legislature in 2004 charged with the responsibility of developing and maintaining a statewide system of care coordination for patients suddenly stricken by serious traumatic injury or time-sensitive illness (such as heart attack and stroke). It is a system also designated to serve as a vital healthcare resource in the face of larger scale emergencies and natural disasters.