STORY BY JOY PRUDEK

St. Luke's Wood River has implemented several new emergency department enhancements designed to improve patient safety, strengthen trauma response, and support high-quality care close to home.

Supported by funding from St. Luke's Wood River Foundation and its donors, the initiatives include advanced airway management training and equipment, a fluid warming system for critically ill patients and technology that helps clinicians more quickly diagnose serious eye injuries.

One of the most significant enhancements is the launch of the Difficult Airway Project, which aligns the Emergency Department with national best practices for managing airway emergencies. All clinical staff will receive hands-on training, and the department now has two fully stocked airway carts containing specialized equipment that can be deployed immediately when seconds matter.

"Airway emergencies are among the most time-sensitive and high-risk situations we encounter in emergency medicine," says Dr. Katherine Buckley, a board-certified emergency physician at St. Luke's Wood River. "These investments help ensure our team has the training, equipment and preparedness to respond quickly and effectively when patients need us most."

The project received support from Foundation donors, including Lynn Campion, a former EMT-A (Emergency Medical Technician-Advanced) with the Ketchum Fire Department.

"As a former EMT-A for the Ketchum Fire Department, I have seen the need for advanced airway management techniques in our valley," Campion said. "We feel very lucky to have these two carts in our local ED and we are proud to support the effort to bring them here."

Additional enhancements include a device that rapidly warms intravenous fluids before administration to patients experiencing trauma, shock, or hypothermia. The equipment strengthens the hospital's ability to provide timely, life-saving interventions for some of its most critically ill patients.

"Living in a mountain community means our emergency department cares for a wide range of injuries and medical emergencies, from skiing and biking accidents to serious trauma and environmental exposure," Buckley said. "Patients frequently arrive unstable, hypothermic or in shock, and administering unwarmed IV fluids can leave them especially vulnerable. The fluid warmer helps us better care for these critically ill patients."

The Emergency Department also acquired an intraocular pressure device that allows clinicians to more quickly and accurately assess eye injuries. The technology can help reduce vision loss and decrease the need for unnecessary transfers for ophthalmology consultation.

“These enhancements help our hospital provide the same level of emergency and critical care as one would expect in urban facilities,” said Megan Tanous, chief development officer of the St. Luke’s Wood River Foundation. “Because of our tremendously generous donors, we are pleased to support initiatives that the team has identified and align ourselves with best practices in trauma and emergency medicine.”

Buckley said such thoughtful and responsive funding is essential to St. Luke’s Wood River’s success: “This kind of support has helped sustain patient satisfaction scores in the very highest tier of EDs across the entire country, and enabled a safer, more prepared environment for every patient.”