As the largest provider of ECMO in the US, SpecialtyCare offers training and places ECMO specialists at hospitals around the country. One of those hospitals is HCA Florida Memorial Hospital, where a 20 year-old patient was recently admitted during a life-threatening asthma attack.
Julia Webber’s carbon dioxide level was seven times the normal amount when she came into the hospital. Dr. Dale Mueller, a clinician on the case, confessed he’d never seen a carbon dioxide level that high before. It was high enough that the machines couldn’t even measure it. She had only minutes before her life functions completely failed.
Dr. Mueller and the ICU staff put Webber on an ECMO machine. Over 48 hours, hospital staff and a team of SpecialtyCare ECMO specialists monitored Webber as the ECMO machine breathed for her while her lungs recovered.
The ECMO therapy was very successful for Webber. She woke up with her lung function restored and thanked the team for her survival during those critical days. She plans to become a respiratory therapist to help others who are suffering from similar issues.
ECMO Therapy Can Provide Life-Saving Treatment
For Webber, ECMO therapy provided life-saving treatment at a critical moment, and it has done so for countless other patients. ECMO has become a more utilized therapy in the last several years. In fact, its implementation has risen 3000% over the past decade.
As the COVID-19 pandemic has made abundantly clear, respiratory illnesses are not going anywhere. And as heart disease remains the number one cause of death in the United States, the use of ECMO for life-saving heart and lung treatment is only going to become more common.
However, research shows that ECMO success rates are vastly impacted by experience. Organizations with a higher ECMO caseload per year have significantly lower odds of mortality than those with fewer cases. That’s why it’s important to have trained ECMO specialists who are ready to administer treatment in the moment of crisis.
SpecialtyCare Can Meet Your ECMO Needs
We’re proud of our ECMO specialists who helped Julia Webber receive a new lease on life. We have team members across the country who play a vital role each day in improving patient health, and our experience shows. That’s why we’re the largest provider of ECMO — and why we’re trusted by 1,100+ hospitals and health systems across our service lines.
If your hospital needs ECMO specialists, ECMO program management, or online and on-site ECMO training, look no further. SpecialtyCare can assess your program, place clinicians, and train staff so that you can improve outcomes with ECMO therapy. Contact us today to learn more!