Boise, August 4, 2014 — Ada County Paramedics was recently honored with the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline® EMS Silver Award. The prestigious award recognizes a high level of success in implementing improvement measures for patients who suffer from severe heart attacks—otherwise known as a STEMI (ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction).
A STEMI heart attack is caused by complete blockage of blood flow to the heart and requires expedited treatment to prevent death. Providers can either surgically open the blocked vessel or give clot-busting medication. Unfortunately, a significant number of patients in the US don’t receive prompt enough “reperfusion therapy,” which is critical in restoring blood flow.
Ada County Paramedics received the Mission: Lifeline Silver award for having demonstrated at least 75 percent compliance for each required achievement measure for the entire year, following protocols derived from the American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology, using the correct tools and training to rapidly identify STEMI and notifying the hospitals early to trigger response from awaiting hospital personnel. Ada County Paramedics treated 78 STEMI patients over the course of a year—70 more than required for the award.
“Ada County Paramedics is dedicated to excellence in our pre-hospital patient care. The American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline program helps us accomplish this by implementing processes with the goal of improving the quality of care for all STEMI patients,” Ada County Paramedics Director Darby Weston said. “We are pleased to be recognized for our dedication and achievements in emergency medical care for STEMI patients.”
“We commend Ada County Paramedics for this achievement award, which reflects a significant commitment to improve the quality of care for heart attack patients,” said A. Gray Ellrodt, MD, Chair of the Mission: Lifeline committee and Chief of Medicine at the Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, Mass. “All too many heart attack patients in the United States still fail to receive appropriate treatment for their life-threatening condition within the recommended timeframes. We must all continue this important work to streamline and coordinate regional systems of care to save lives and prevent complications.”
About Ada County Paramedics
For more information, visit www.AdaCountyParamedics.org or call (208) 287-2962. You can also like Ada County Paramedics on Facebook, www.Facebook.com/AdaCountyParamedic or follow them on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AdaParamedics.
About Mission: Lifeline
The American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline® program helps hospitals and emergency medical services develop systems of care that follow proven standards and procedures for STEMI patients. The program works by mobilizing teams across the continuum of care to implement American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology clinical treatment guidelines. For more information, visit heart.org/missionlifeline and heart.org/quality.