MONCKS CORNER, S.C. – (Tuesday, September 14, 2021) – For the third consecutive year, Berkeley County EMS achieved the Mission LifeLine® Gold Plus Award, which the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline® EMS Recognition Program hands out each year. Berkeley County EMS received the Mission: LifeLine® Silver Plus Award in 2018. EMS was recognized at the Berkeley County Council meeting on Monday, September 13. Watch the meeting livestream HERE.
The unique Mission: Lifeline® initiative provides tools, training and other resources to support heart attack care following protocols from the most recent evidence-based treatment guidelines. Mission: Lifeline’s EMS Recognition Program recognizes EMS agencies for their efforts in improving systems of care to rapidly identify suspected heart attack patients, promptly notify the medical center and trigger an early response from “the awaiting hospital personnel.”
More specifically, in order to achieve the Gold Plus recognition, Berkeley County EMS had to assess a patient with non-traumatic chest pain, capture a 12-lead EKG, and within 10 minutes of the incident, transmit the EKG results to the appropriate chest pain center. Additionally, EMS crews had to transport the patient—having had the appropriate treatment of restored blood flow back to the heart—to the necessary medical facility within 90 minutes of the incident.
According to the American Heart Association, each year more than 250,000 people experience an ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), the deadliest type of heart attack—caused by a blockage of blood flow to the heart—which requires timely treatment.
The Mission: Lifeline Gold Plus Award is confirmation of something we already know—our EMTs and Paramedics are out there every day delivering high-quality healthcare in a challenging environment. The performance measures they had to meet to achieve this recognition are not easy; but despite the challenges we faced this past year, especially the COVID-19 pandemic, they performed amazingly. I could not be more proud of our EMTs and Paramedics. They are an awe-inspiring team, who, along with our hospital partners, are not just saving lives but improving the quality of the lives they serve. -Berkeley County EMS Assistant Chief Michael Shirey
Learn more HERE about the Mission: LifeLine® EMS Program.
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-Prepared by the Berkeley County Public Information Office-
