Christian Hospital EMS Nationally Recognized for Its Commitment to Quality Care for Heart Attacks and Strokes in North St. Louis County

The American Heart Association presents the Mission: Lifeline EMS Gold achievement award for proven dedication to ensuring access to best practices and life-saving care.

EMS staff are trained to provide resuscitation to someone whose heart has stopped and can begin treatment immediately when they arrive at the scene — up to an hour sooner than if someone travels to the hospital by car. People who transported by ambulance may also receive faster treatment at the hospital.

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 health care systems.

“Arguably the most important link in the chains of survival for acute stroke and cardiovascular emergencies is emergency medical services and prehospital professionals,” said Edward Jauch, M.D., MS, MBA, chair of the department of research at the University of North Carolina Health Sciences at Mountain Area Health Center. “Early condition identification, stabilization and prehospital interventions, and initiation of actions within the regional systems of care provide patients with the best chance for receiving expedient definitive therapies leading to optimal outcomes and maximized quality of life.

“The American Heart Association Mission: Lifeline EMS awards are an important way to recognize the crucial roles and performances of EMS personnel in stroke and cardiac patients’ care.”

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.

“Christian Hospital is honored to be recognized by the American Heart Association for our dedication to providing optimal care for heart attack patients,” said Brian Hokamp, Christian Hospital EMS chief. “The Mission: Lifeline program puts proven knowledge and guidelines to work on a daily basis so patients have the best possible chance of survival.”

Christian Hospital is also recognized with the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline System of Care Target: Heart Attack award, focused on the system of care for patients. This award highlights the collaboration and contributions of both prehospital and hospital providers. This time-critical award level is limited to those agencies that provide patient transport to STEMI-receiving and STEMI-referring centers.