“I DIED FOR A FEW MINUTES”: HOW ESSENTIA HEALTH’S EXPERT CARE SAVED A LIFE

By Anthony Matt

Barb Schmidt, a 65-year-old Brainerd resident, and her husband Richard won’t soon forget the events of Aug. 2, 2023. It was a normal day for the retired couple, who spent the afternoon getting ready to welcome friends from Iowa. It wasn’t until they were at a church function that night that things took a turn for the worse.

“I had just eaten and I started to not feel well,” Barb said. “I found some quiet space to sit down, thinking I had maybe had a reaction to something I ate.”

That’s when Richard asked Barb what was wrong. Barb told him she didn’t feel well, that she was experiencing tightness in her chest. Richard knew something was wrong and that they needed to go to Essentia Health-St. Joseph’s Medical Center. While getting checked in at the emergency department, Barb passed out and collapsed.

“They called a code blue on me and started doing CPR and used the AED to resuscitate me,” Barb that day and was brought back to life.”

Barb doesn’t remember anything other than starting the check-in process. Three hours later, she an ST-elevation myocardial infarction, or STEMI – the most deadly type of heart attack.

“I had two stents put in and I had a concussion from hitting my head when I fell,” Barb said.

Richard And Barb Schmidt

She spent another full day in the hospital for routine monitoring before being discharged on the morning of Aug. 4.

“The care was really wonderful,” Barb said. “I’m Catholic, so our priest had come to administer Last Rites to me. Dr. Michael Curran prayed with the priest and my husband during that, and that meant the world to us.” said the care was top-notch. That included the doctors and nurses who helped save her life, the pharmacists who helped her navigate her medications and everyone in between.

“Working with all of these people has been exceptional,” Barb said. “This has all been overwhelming to me and yet they help me navigate all of these challenges and they do it so well.”

Barb said she had none of the classic symptoms of a heart attack. So her message to people is if serious; don’t wait — go get it checked out.

St. Joseph’s launched its 24/7 STEMI center in Brainerd less than two years ago. Called the Marilyn Covey Heart and Vascular Center, doctors and nurses have enhanced the way heart attack patients are cared for in the area. Teams mobilize within minutes of being ensuring they are ready and able to provide immediate care.

Providing this level of care around the clock requires the coordination of a highly skilled team of emergency medical service providers, cardiovascular specialists and intensive care nurses.

Members of this team are trained to identify and stabilize patients with acute STEMI, open the blocked artery in a cardiac catheterization lab (cath lab) and ensure patient stability and safe recovery following the catheterization procedure.

Essentia is more prepared than ever to help patients in the Brainerd Lakes area, who previously would have been

STEMI care, wasting precious time in the process.