Why Call 911?

Start Treatment Earlier

More than 50% of all patients experiencing chest pain walk into the Emergency Department (ED) rather than calling 911. The reasons for this are numerous, ranging from the instinct to just jump in the car and drive to the nearest hospital to the misunderstanding that the

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The fact remains: calling 911 starts treatment earlier.  

• 911 dispatchers are often trained to locate you quickly and assist you in early treatment options
• Emergency Medical Services (EMS) can diagnosis a heart attack by using an electrocardiogram (ECG) and initiate early treatment
• Arriving by ambulance to the ED helps to ensure that you will not wait to be seen by a physician. Many patients who experience chest pain drive themselves, only to find that they may wait in the ED lobby until they can see the doctor.
• EMS can radio ahead to the ED that you are on your way. This enables the ED staff to be ready for you when you arrive.

When Greg Prillwitz suffered his second heart attack, his wife, Karen, knew his condition was “much worse” than it had been the first time. She called an ambulance to have Greg taken to Spectrum Health Lakeland. From the moment the ambulance arrived and whisked him away, with Karen following in her car, Greg sensed he was in good hands.

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“My wife said by the time she parked and was in the hospital, they were already working on me.”
~Greg Prillwitz, Eau Claire