Durham County EMS Nationally Recognized for its Commitment to Quality Care for Heart Attacks and Strokes
Durham County, N.C. - The Durham County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Division 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.
EMS 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.
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.
"Emergency Medical Services play a critical role in the overall care and treatment of strokes and cardiac diseases such as heart attacks. Durham County EMS works collaboratively with 9-1-1 and first responder agencies to ensure rapid recognition and on-scene management of these time-sensitive conditions," said Dr. Anjni Joiner, Durham County EMS System Medical Director. "Furthermore, prehospital notification of these conditions can quickly mobilize teams and resources for in-hospital care, thus optimizing outcomes for these individuals. The receipt of Mission: Lifeline EMS Gold standard recognition demonstrates the outstanding commitment of our EMS crews to continue to provide exemplary care to our community."
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.
"Durham County EMS is honored to once again be recognized by the American Heart Association for our dedication to providing optimal care for heart attack patients," said Mark Lockhart, Chief Paramedic. "The Mission: Lifeline program puts proven knowledge and guidelines to work daily, so patients have the best possible chance of survival. We are honored to receive Mission: Lifeline EMS Gold standard recognition for the sixth consecutive year."
About Durham County EMS:
Durham County EMS, a division of Durham County's Office of Emergency Services, has provided 911 medical response 24 hours a day, 7 days a week since 1975. The service utilizes emergency medical technicians, advanced emergency medical technicians, paramedics, and community paramedics to provide exceptional out-of-hospital care to the Durham County community. For more information, you can find us at @emsdurham on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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.