Calling an ambulance can mean receiving critical treatment for heart attacks and strokes up to an hour faster than going to the hospital by car. The American Heart Association recently awarded Bay County Emergency Services the national Mission: Lifeline EMS Silver Participant 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. 

“Our paramedics and EMTs can begin advanced life support treatment when they arrive on the scene to initiate resuscitative efforts to someone whose heart has stopped,” Bay County Chief of Emergency Services Matthew Lindewirth said.

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 Edward Jauch, M.D., MS, MBA, chair of the department of research at the University of North Carolina Health Sciences at Mountain Area Health Center. 

Early condition identification and intervention provides the best chance for patients to get the care they need, and this award reflects the crucial roles and performances of Bay County’s EMS personnel in stroke and cardiac patients’ care, Lindewirth said. 

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. As a recipient this year, next year Bay County will be eligible to win the “Gold” award.

“Bay County Emergency Services is honored to be recognized by the American Heart Association for our dedication to providing optimal care for patients suffering from a cardiac emergency,” Lindewirth said. “The Mission: Lifeline program puts proven knowledge and guidelines to work daily so patients have the best possible chance of survival.” 

About Mission: Lifeline 

Mission: Lifeline EMS® recognition is the American Heart Association’s program that recognizes prehospital emergency agencies for their quality of care for heart attack and stroke patients. The recognition program focuses on transforming care quality by connecting all heart attack and stroke care components into a seamlessly integrated care system. Key tenets of these systems of care reinforce evidence-based guidelines and measure performance, identify gaps, and engage in quality improvement. 

For more information, visit heart.org.