Director of Clinical Outreach

• Aug 2021 - Present

Provide support, resources and serve as liaison to local First Responders, SNFs, ACLFs & Urgent Care Centers, Manage Chest Pain Centers and Heart Failure Accreditation Programs at Bayfront Health's Brooksville, Spring Hill and Seven Rivers facilities. Provide cardiovascular / EKG education to hospital staff and area EMS providers.

Cardiovascular Coordinator (Chest Pain Center, Heart Failure and Therapeutic Hypothermia Programs)

• Jul 2012 - Aug 2021

Evaluate all facets of cardiac patient care to assure compliance with the latest AHA/ACC/HRS guidelines. Coordinated the total application processes that resulted in the successful Chest Pain Center with PCI and Resuscitation accreditation (cycle 5) for Bayfront Health Dade City, April 2017, Atrial Fibrillation accreditation in August 2014 and Chest Pain Center Accreditation (cycle 4) in November 2013. Provide staff education in advanced 12 Lead and Basic ECG, ACLS, PALS, hemodynamics, Complications of Cardiac Cath and PCI. Provide public education on all cardiac related topics at multiple venues. Serve as accreditation resource person for other CHS facilities. Served as Principal Investigator for the observational cohort study, "Validation of the Simple Acute Coronary Syndrome Risk Stratification Score," a multi-center study underway at Bayfront Health St Petersburg and Bayfront Health Dade City, Florida. I served as the Cardiovascular Coordinator at Bayfront Dade City (July 2012 - April 2018) and now serve as the Cardiovascular Coordinator / Emergency Manager at Bayfront Seven Rivers, Crystal River, FL Show less

Director of Clinical Outreach and Cardiovascular Accredited Programs

• Jul 2012 - Present

Regional Cardiovascular Programs Coordinator

• Nov 2020 - Aug 2021

Develop, implement and coordinate all facets of hospital Chest Pain Center and Heart Failure programs to assure compliance with American College of Cardiology accreditation requirements. Includes authoring of evidence-based ER and admission order sets, policies, procedures and protocols, cardiovascular education programs for nursing, EMS and the public. Collaborate with physicians, hospital leadership and front-line team members to assure that all accreditation requirements are being met. Develop, implement and coordinate all facets of hospital Chest Pain Center and Heart Failure programs to assure compliance with American College of Cardiology accreditation requirements. Includes authoring of evidence-based ER and admission order sets, policies, procedures and protocols, cardiovascular education programs for nursing, EMS and the public. Collaborate with physicians, hospital leadership and front-line team members to assure that all accreditation requirements are being met.

Author of "STEMI Assistant"

• Jun 2015 - Jun 2015

STEMI Assistant is a 42 page reference manual and interactive crash cart aid for health care providers who care for patients experiencing acute ST Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI). STEMI Assistant presents the latest evidence-based practices described in the American College of Cardiology / American Heart Association 2013 STEMI Guidelines, AHA/ACC 2014 Non-ST Elevation (NSTE)-ACS Guidelines and evidence based practices described in 19 additional recent scientific journal articles. STEMI Assistant includes descriptions of typical and atypical symptoms of Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS), the latest AHA/ACC/Heart Rhythm Society guidelines for obtaining 12 & 18 Lead ECGs, identification of pre-infarction and STEMI ECG patterns and identification of STEMI when bundle branch blocks are present. Model protocols for hospital and EMS providers describe the latest evidence based practices for the management of patients with acute chest pain, NSTE-ACS, and STEMI in PCI capable and non-PCI capable scenarios. A generic ER Physician's STEMI order set reflects the latest AHA/ACC practices for the treatment of STEMI in the ER and satisfies multiple Key Items listed in the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care's Chest Pain Center accreditation standards. When used as an emergency bedside reference, the book cover features a 12 Lead ECG divided into five color-coded anatomic regions of the heart. Arrows lead from each anatomic region and point to the page number where information specific to each type of STEMI can be found. The information provided advises the clinician of the coronary artery that is most likely occluded, specific complications to anticipate and special considerations that should be observed based on correlations of abnormal ST patterns with common coronary artery anatomy as described in multiple evidence-based publications. Marketed worldwide by Ingram Books. Free PDF download at: www.ECGtraining.org, then select: "Downloads-PDF." Show less

Interventional Electrophysiology / Cath Lab Technologist

• Jan 1996 - Jul 2012

Operated the EPMate cardiac dysrhythmia mapping and ablation system during Cardiac Electrophysiology (EP) Studies in the Pediatric and Adult Cardiac Programs. Other roles during EP studies included: Scrub and Circulate during Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW), Ventricular Tachycardia, SVT, AVNRT, Atrial Fibrillation Pulmonary Vein Isolation (PVI), Syncope / Sudden Cardiac Death, Pacemaker and ICD Implantation cases. Also served as an Interventional Technologist for the Interventional Cardiology program. In this role, perfrormed the following roles: Scrub, Circulate and Hemodynamic Monitoriing for diagnostic and emergency (STEMI) cardiac catheterizations. Served at St Josephs Main Campus (Tampa) and St Josephs North Campus (Lutz, FL). Show less

Author, "12 Lead ECG Interpretation in ACS with Case a Studies from the Cardiac Cath Lab"

• Dec 2003 - Dec 2010

Compiled over 250 case studies (ECGs, H&Ps, Pre- and Post-PCI angiographic images) of patients I've cared for in 18+ years in the Cath Lab, developed and edited a curriculum that covers STEMI, NSTEMI, Unstable Angina, Low Risk Chest Pain, and converted it into both a 304 page textbook and an 8 hour workshop. The textbook is marketed to 40,000 booksellers and retailers worldwide by Ingram Books. The curriculum also covers "Brugada and Long QT Syndromes," which are two of the four conditions that claim the lives of thousands of otherwise healthy young people. A book and course dedicated to Recognition of Sudden Cardiac Death precursors are forthcoming. The curriculum focuses on the ECG identification of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia, Long QT and Brugada Syndromes. Show less

National Director of Quality Improvement

• Apr 1990 - Jan 1994

Developed, implemented and directed a comprehensive quality improvement process in LifeFleet's 14 EMS operations nationwide. The QI process monitored and measured performance of the five key components of an ambulance operation: Clinical Competency of EMS providers; Team Member (employee) Morale; The Dispatch Process; Ambulance Vehicle Reliability; and Equipment Reliability. These five key components became known as the "Links in the Chain of Quality" and each are considered essential to positive patient outcomes. Like the saying "a chain is as strong as its weakest link," if the performance of any one component fails, a patient's outcome on any given ambulance call can be negatively impacted. The QI program included multiple input sources and measurements for the performance of each component, an Excel program and formulas to determine compliance levels and feedback reports for individual team members, educators and managers. The "Team Member Morale" component is applicable to all organizations with multiple employees. Known as "Team Driven Performance Improvement" (TDPI) I have used this little-known but very effective tool in the EMS and Hospital industries since its inception in 1991. Show less

Paramedic

• 1994 - 1994