Publication Date
2026
College
College of Professional Studies
Department
School of Applied Health
Document Type
Poster
Description
Delayed electrocardiogram (EKG) acquisition in emergency departments (ED) represents a preventable patient safety crisis disproportionately affecting women, Black patients, older adults, and non-English-speaking patients. Using the Iowa Model of Evidence-Based Practice, this quality improvement project addresses door-to-EKG (D2E) times exceeding the ACC/AHA 10-minute benchmark in a rural northern California ED. Three evidence-based interventions are proposed: culturally tailored community education on atypical acute coronary syndrome symptoms, a standardized nurse-driven triage EKG protocol with dedicated equipment, and institutional adoption of D2E time as a formal quality metric. Evaluation includes EHR timestamp audits, demographic disparity analysis, and longitudinal mortality review. Timely EKG acquisition saves lives.