His ailing heart was in the right place

Jim Meis talked with Frances Hoffman, director of the heart transplant program at Abbott Northwestern Hospital. Meis’ longtime partner, Trudy Lohre, was at his side.

[Star Tribune, July 19, 2010] Jim Meis, 60, didn't die that day. About an hour after he collapsed at his home in Monticello, he was landing on the helipad at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, pumped full of drugs and with a breathing tube down his throat.

Meis' survival that harrowing night is the story of a community with a rare combination of medical assets: civilians trained in CPR, state-of-the art emergency care and cutting-edge cardiac medicine.

Read the entire story at startribune.com.

Posted on July 19, 2010 in Abbott Northwestern Hospital, Allina Health Minneapolis Heart Institute, Star Tribune