Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center (EMRMC) has been selected as one of only 21 institutions worldwide for the inaugural cohort of the PRISM Program, a landmark initiative launched by The PERT Consortium to advance excellence in pulmonary embolism (PE) care. EMRMC, central Kentucky’s only comprehensive Pulmonary Embolism Response Team (PERT), is the only rural community hospital in the cohort.
PRISM, which stands for Pulmonary Embolism, Research, Improved Care, Standardized Systems, and Measured Outcomes, is a three-year national program designed to accredit up to 100 sites that demonstrate a commitment to clinical excellence, research, quality improvement, and multidisciplinary collaboration in PE care.
“Being selected for the inaugural PRISM cohort is a tremendous validation of the work our entire team has built here in Danville,” said Jason Bowman, MD, ICU/IMCU/ECMO Medical Director at EMRMC. “Our patients deserve the same level of care available at major academic medical centers, and this recognition confirms that they are receiving exactly that, right here at home.”
Comprehensive PE Care, Close to Home
Pulmonary embolism, a blood clot that travels to the lungs, is the third-leading cause of cardiovascular death in the United States. The team at Ephraim McDowell has created a highly protocolized PE care pathway that guides every patient from the moment of diagnosis through intervention and long-term follow-up, ensuring rapid, coordinated, expert-level care at every step.
The program is anchored by capabilities rarely found outside major academic medical centers:
• 24/7 in-house ECMO cannulation: Thanks to the dedication of our Emergency and ICU teams, EMRMC is the only hospital in Kentucky with around-the-clock, in-house extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO)/ECPR cannulation capability, an ELSO Pathway to Excellence Silver Level Center designation that provides a critical lifeline for the most severe PE cases, including patients in cardiac arrest.
• Board-certified intensivist support: Every PE and intervention is backed by board-certified critical care physicians, ensuring the highest level of clinical oversight for even the most complex cases.
• Catheter-based thrombectomy on ECMO: EMRMC is the only hospital in Kentucky that routinely offers pulmonary embolism aspiration thrombectomy to patients while on ECMO, providing a treatment option for patients who would otherwise have no alternatives.
• AI-assisted PE detection: Cutting-edge Viz AI technology automatically identifies potential blood clots on CT scans and immediately alerts the care team, reducing time to treatment and facilitates real-time multidisciplinary collaboration.
• Protocolized follow-up care: A dedicated outpatient clinic ensures continuity of care after discharge, monitoring recovery and managing long-term anticoagulation therapy.
World-Class Care Without the Drive
For patients across Kentucky, EMRMC’s comprehensive PERT program means access to the full spectrum of PE treatment options without traveling hours to a distant academic medical center. The program is led by physicians who serve in national leadership roles for The PERT Consortium and bring that expertise directly to the community.
“You should not have to drive hours for lifesaving treatment,” said Dr. Bowman. “We have built something here that stands alongside the best programs in the country, and we look forward to working with our fellow PRISM institutions to create the next generation of PE management guidelines.”
Congratulations to the Inaugural PRISM Cohort
EMRMC is proud to join the following institutions in this landmark program and looks forward to the collaborative work ahead:
• Baylor Scott and White – Dallas (Baylor University Medical Center and The Heart Hospital – Dallas), Dallas, TX
• Baylor Scott & White Memorial, Temple, TX
• Baylor Scott & White The Heart Hospital Plano, Plano, TX
• Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
• Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY
• Delray Medical Center, Delray Beach, FL
• Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack, NJ
• Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, CA
• Jacobi Hospital, Bronx, NY
• King Abdulaziz Medical City Riyadh, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
• Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL
• Oklahoma Heart Institute, Tulsa, OK
• Promedica, Toledo, OH
• Redlands Community Hospital, Redlands, CA
• SSM Saint Louis University Hospital, St. Louis, MO
• Stony Brook University Medical Center, Stony Brook, NY
• SUNY Upstate University Hospital, Syracuse, NY
• Temple University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA
• Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA
• Wellstar MCG, Augusta, GA
About The PERT Consortium PRISM Program
The PERT Consortium is the premier organization worldwide dedicated to advancing multidisciplinary pulmonary embolism care. The PRISM Program provides participating institutions with access to the PE Center of Excellence accreditation pathway, the PERC quality assurance database, and a collaborative network of leading PE programs. For more information, visit pertconsortium.org.
About Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center
Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center is a non-profit community-based regional medical center in Danville, Kentucky, providing advanced emergency, medical, surgical, and critical care services to rural central Kentucky. EMRMC is an ELSO Silver Level ECMO Center and home to central Kentucky’s only comprehensive Pulmonary Embolism Response Team (PERT). For more information, visit www.emhealth.org.