AHN Canonsburg Ambulance receives American Heart Association Achievement Award
Allegheny Health Network Canonsburg Ambulance Service has received the American Heart Association Mission: Lifeline® EMS Silver Plus Award for its remarkable care and treatment for patients experiencing cardiac arrest, specifically, ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) incidents.
More than 250,000 people annually experience a STEMI which is the deadliest form of a heart attack caused primarily by extreme blockages of blood flow. To help ensure the best possible outcomes, it’s critical that medical teams restore blood flow as quickly as possible either by mechanically opening the blocked vessel or by providing clot-busting medication, according to a news release from Allegheny Health Network.
Mission: Lifeline’s EMS 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. Silver level is awarded to EMS teams that meet these predetermined parameters on an aggregated score of 75% or higher throughout the year.
“AHN Canonsburg Ambulance Service is dedicated to providing optimal care for heart attack patients in our community,” said Steve Carson, AHN paramedic supervisor. “This most recent recognition from the AHA is a testament to the team’s unwavering commitment and support.”
In addition to the achievement award, the AHA initiative works diligently each year to provide tools, training and other resources to support heart attack care based on guideline-directed treatments.
“EMTs and paramedics play a vital part in the system of care for those who have heart attacks,” said Tim Henry, M.D., chairman 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 AHN Canonsburg Ambulance Service for achieving this award in following evidence-based guidelines in the treatment of people who have severe heart attacks.”