For the third year in a row, Berkeley County EMS was recognized for the agency's care of patients suffering from heart attacks.
The agency received a Mission Lifeline Gold Plus Award, given every year by the American Heart Association's Mission: Lifeline EMS Recognition Program, according to a county press release issued last week. The program recognizes EMS agencies that work to improve systems of care to identify suspected heart attack patients and notify medical centers more promptly so awaiting medical personnel are prepared for the patients when they arrive.
To achieve the award, the county's EMS personnel had to assess a patient with non-traumatic chest pain, capture a 12-lead EKG and transmit the EKG results to the appropriate chest pain center within 10 minutes of the incident. EMS crews also had to treat the patient and take them to the necessary medical facility within 90 minutes of the incident.
"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," Berkeley County EMS Assistant Chief Michael Shirey said in the release. "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," he added. "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."
More than 250,000 people a year nationwide experience the deadliest type of heart attacks, ST elevation myocardial infarction, caused by a blockage of blood flow to the heart, according to the American Heart Association.
Prior to receiving the Gold Plus Award for the last three years, Berkeley County EMS also received the Mission: Lifeline Silver Plus Award in 2018.
