Posted on May 31, 2017
Published by El Dorado News Times
EL DORADO – The American Heart Association presented top awards to Medical Center of South Arkansas, ProMed Ambulance and the El Dorado Fire Department for quality achievement as part of the Mission: Lifeline® program.
The Mission: Lifeline® program helps hospitals and emergency medical services develop systems of care that follow proven standards and procedures for STEMI (ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction) patients. The program works by mobilizing teams across the continuum of care to implement American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology clinical treatment guidelines.
El Dorado based ProMed Ambulance was named a 2017 EMS Gold Plus agency. El Dorado Fire Department Ambulance Service was honored with the Bronze Plus award. Medical Center of South Arkansas received the 2017 Mission: Lifeline® Silver Award as a STEMI Receiving Center Hospital.
Hospitals and EMS agencies that participate in the Mission: Lifeline® program have committed to applying the high standards of evidenced based treatment guidelines in caring for victims of heart attack and acute coronary syndromes care in the communities they serve. In cooperation with the cardiac program offered at the Medical Center of South Arkansas, both ProMed and El Dorado Fire have adopted these rigorous guidelines as their protocol.
“MCSA is the only hospital in south Arkansas dually accredited as a Chest Pain Center and Mission: Lifeline® Heart Attack Receiving Center, a designation that denotes dedication to delivering quality cardiac care,” said Kristen Waller, MCSA Chest Pain Coordinator. “Arkansas leads the nation in deaths from heart attack. Our work with area emergency medical services such as ProMed and El Dorado Fire Department will ensure STEMI (heart attack) patients will get pre-hospital and immediate hospital treatment.”
“I cannot be more proud of the work with such a great team as we have here in Union County,” said Ken Kelley, ProMed President and CEO. “Our efforts through the Mission: Lifeline® program have helped improve cardiovascular health within the community, have minimized the damage when heart attacks occur, and — without a doubt — have helped save lives. To be recognized for these efforts is a great honor. We are privileged to work with great teams at El Dorado Fire EMS and MCSA. Without everyone’s efforts, we could not have advanced our program to the level that we currently maintain. It’s definitely a win-win for the community,” he continued.
ProMed has exceeded national data benchmarks for three consecutive years and met additional benchmark measures of performing rapid 12-lead EKG’s on 100% of chest pain and coronary syndrome patients in less than 10 minutes of arrival at the scene. This additional measure earned ProMed the Gold Plus endorsement. Similarly, El Dorado Fire achieved additional benchmark measures and, as a second year Mission: Lifeline® participant, earned the Bronze Plus status.
“Our collaboration enables us to streamline the emergency heart attack process so paramedics are able to recognize a STEMI and activate the hospital ER and cardiac team for the quickest care to open blood vessels in the heart and reduce damage,” said Chief Chad Mosby, El Dorado Fire Department.
EMS agencies participating in the Mission: Lifeline® program are measured against national benchmarks for cardiac care. Examples include the ability to obtain and interpret a pre-hospital 12-lead EKG, the establishment of peripheral intravenous lines, performing blood draws to help determine cardiac enzyme markers, and providing rapid transport to cardiac centers that can perform immediate, interventional cardiac procedures. These parameters work towards achieving a 9-1-1 call to definitive treatment time of not more than 90 minutes.
EMS is a vital part of this system of care and helps speed the recognition, treatment and care of cardiac patients.
“These awards recognize our collaborative commitment and success in implementing specific quality improvement measures to treat patients suffering from severe heart attacks known as STEMI,” said Robert Rupp, MCSA CEO. “This demonstrates that coordinating with all our healthcare professionals—pre-hospital emergency medical services (EMS), emergency room staff, cardiac catherization team and cardiologists—can provide heart attack patients life-saving treatment sooner.”
Each year in the United States, about 250,000 people have a STEMI, caused by a complete blockage of blood flow to the heart that requires timely treatment. To prevent death, it’s critical to immediately restore blood flow, either by surgically opening the blocked vessel or by giving clot-busting medication. The American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline® program’s goal is to reduce system barriers to prompt treatment for heart attacks, beginning with the 9-1-1 call and continuing through hospital treatment.
story text created on Friday 5/26/2017 at 4:45:48 pm by Terrance Armstard