Prince George’s County Fire/Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Department receives American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline EMS Gold Plus Recognition Award

     Largo, MD AUGUST 25, 2020 — For the second year in a row, the Prince George’s County Fire/Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Department received the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline^® EMS Gold Plus Award for implementing quality improvement measures for the treatment of patients who experience severe heart attacks.

Every year, across the country, 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 that requires timely treatment. To prevent death, it’s critical to restore blood flow as quickly as possible,either by mechanically opening the blocked vessel or by providing clot-busting medication.      

The 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 emergency medical services 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.  

“Prince George’s County Fire/EMS is dedicated to providing optimal care for heart attack patients,” said Fire Chief Tiffany Green. “We are pleased to be recognized for our dedication and achievements in emergency medical care efforts through Mission: Lifeline.”

 “EMTs and paramedics play a vital part in the system of care for those who have heart attacks,” said Tim Henry, M.D., Chair of the Mission: Lifeline Acute Coronary Syndrome Subcommittee. “Since they often are the first medical point of contact, they can save precious minutes of treatment time by activating the emergency response system that alerts hospitals to an incoming heart attack patient. We applaud Prince George’s County Fire/EMS for achieving this award in following evidence-based guidelines in the treatment of people who have severe heart attacks.”

About Mission: Lifeline

The American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline^® program helps hospitals and emergency medical services develop systems of care that follow proven standards and procedures for acute coronary syndrome patients. The program works by mobilizing teams across the continuum of care to implement American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology clinical treatment guidelines.  For more information, visit heart.org.

About PGFD

It is the fourth year that Prince George's County Fire/EMS has received recognition: Bronze in 2017, Silver in 2018, and Gold Plus for 2019 and 2020. It’s so exciting to see the lives that are being impacted. A sincere thank you to all of our EMS technicians for all of your hard work and dedication to the community.