MIDDLETOWN, Ohio – The Middletown Division of Fire has received the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline® EMS GOLD achievement award for its commitment to offering rapid and research-based care to people experiencing the most severe form of heart attacks and strokes, ultimately saving lives.
Emergency medical services staff can begin treatment when they arrive — up to an hour sooner than if someone goes to the hospital by car. EMS staff are also trained to provide resuscitation efforts to someone whose heart has stopped. People who arrive by ambulance may also receive faster treatment at the hospital.
Mission: Lifeline EMS® is the American Heart Association's national initiative to advance the system of care for patients with high-risk, time-sensitive disease states, such as severe heart attacks and strokes. The program helps reduce barriers to prompt treatment — starting from when 911 is called, to EMS transport and continuing through hospital treatment and discharge. Optimal care for heart attack and stroke patients takes coordination between the individual prehospital providers and healthcare systems.
“Arguably the most important link in the chains of survival for acute stroke and cardiovascular emergencies is emergency medical services and prehospital professionals,” said Kacey Kronenfeld, M.D., FAEMS, chair of the American Heart Association's Mission: Lifeline EMS Taskforce. “Early condition identification, stabilization and prehospital interventions, and initiation of actions within the regional systems of care provide patients with the best chance for receiving expedient definitive therapies leading to optimal outcomes and maximized quality of life. The American Heart Association Mission: Lifeline EMS awards are an important way to recognize the crucial roles and performances of EMS personnel in stroke and cardiac patients’ care.”
The Mission: Lifeline EMS achievement award focuses on agencies’ on-scene care, bringing to the forefront the collaboration and contributions to patient care for prehospital providers.
“The Middletown Fire Department is honored to be recognized by the American Heart Association for our dedication to providing optimal care for heart attack patients,” said EMS Lieutenant Ryan Pennekamp. “The Mission: Lifeline program puts proven knowledge and guidelines to work on a daily basis, so patients have the best possible chance of survival.”
The City of Middletown, Division of Fire is also recognized on the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline System of Care Target Heart Attack award, focused on the system of care for patients. This award highlights the collaboration and contributions of both prehospital and hospital providers. This time-critical award level is limited to those agencies that provide patient transport to STEMI-receiving and STEMI-referring centers and is the highest level achievable for both agencies.
“The Middletown Fire Department is thankful to have such a great working relationship with our two hospitals. With this data collection and vast majority of Heart and Stroke Emergencies being transported to Premier Health’s Atrium Medical Center, it truly shows the outstanding collaboration that we as a department share with Atrium Medical Center.” said EMS Captain Andy Turner. “These statistics prove that our quality prehospital care in conjunction with the quick actions of Atrium Medical Center’s Emergency Room and Cardiac Department create the optimum outcome for our residents and visitors in the City of Middletown.”