Hi Bluesman - Full disclosure.... I run the local 911 ambulance service so I'm probably a bit biased. That said, Meredith, Moultonboro, Center Harbor, Sandwich, Laconia, Gilford and a few other towns implemented the STEMI destination protocols (STEMI being the acronym for most heart attacks). That means if you call 911 in those communities we can bypass LRGH and take you directly to the catheter lab at Concord Hospital.
As a result of these protocols we have a cardiac save rate that is 5 times the national average. Its really a phenomenally successful program. We actually transported a doc who headed up a major ER in Boston and he said that the lakes region's cardiac care was better than he would have received in his own hospital!
Speare is a wonderful hospital and does a very large number of things incredibly well - but they do not yet have STEMI destination in place. That means you go first to Speare then to the cath lab in Concord. During a heart attack any delay to a cath is not a good thing. So if I were having a potential heart issue I'd drive over the center harbor or meredith town line and dial 911.
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