Issue link: http://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/657427
Already a mother of two children, Jennifer Schulze never could have imagined the medical emergency she experienced when she was seven months pregnant with baby number three. PATIENT SAFETY: Making the Grade Inspira Medical Center Woodbury has earned an "A" rating on The Leapfrog Group's 2015 Hospital Safety Score. The first and only hospital safety rating system to be peer-reviewed in the Journal of Patient Safety, Leapfrog's Safety Scores are awarded for having very low hospital-acquired infection rates and few procedure- relatedcomplications. a Mothe' Heart While at home in Mullica Hill in February 2015, Jennifer had severe chest pains. Concerned about both her health and her baby's, she went to an emergency room to be checked out. Neither a physical examination nor an electrocardiogram (EKG) indicated she was having a heart attack, and Jennifer returned home. "The next day, I started having even worse chest pressure and shooting pains in my left arm," Jennifer said. "I kept thinking it was just heartburn, but my mom told me she was taking me to the hospital. We got in her car, but I started to vomit and scream in pain. That's when we called the ambulance." First responders did another EKG. This time, it revealed a blocked artery that was causing Jennifer to have a heart attack. They took her to the closest hospital, Inspira Medical Center Woodbury. Close, Connected, Equipped When Jennifer arrived, Kurt Kaulback, M.D., board-certified interventional cardiologist at Inspira Medical Center Woodbury, was the physician on call. "In 24 years working as an interventional cardiologist, I had never treated a pregnant woman having a heart attack," Dr. Kaulback said. "Having a heart attack caused by a blood clot, especially at 32 weeks pregnant, is not common at all." Jennifer needed a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with stenting. The procedure involves using a balloon to re-open the clogged artery and then inserting a stent, or metal mesh tube, to keep blood A THE STORY OF 4 Spring 2016 Inspira Health Network Family & Friends + You