LFR Recognized for Heart Attack Care for Seventh Consecutive Year

LFR Recognized for Heart Attack Care for Seventh Consecutive Year

Published on June 28, 2022

Lincoln Fire and Rescue (LFR) has received the American Heart Association's (AHA) 2021 Mission: Lifeline® EMS Gold Plus Award for implementing quality improvement measures for the treatment of patients who experience severe heart attacks. This is the fifth consecutive Gold Plus Award the Department has received. LFR won its first award, a Silver level, in 2015.

"Lincoln Fire and Rescue has worked closely with our medical director and Lincoln hospitals to ensure we provide the absolute best chance for survival from severe heart attacks," said Fire Chief David Engler. "Attention to performance, developing solid relationships, and continual outcome-based improvement has resulted in one of the best performing EMS systems in the country. I am proud of the men and women of LFR for their high level of advanced medical training and for their dedication to our community."

When responding to heart attacks, LFR uses electrocardiogram (EKG) machines with 12 connections (12-lead) to the patient to determine if blood flow is adequate to the heart. This data is read and interpreted by our pre-hospital paramedics. This information can determine if the patient would benefit to go directly to the catheterization lab instead of stopping in the emergency room, Engler explained.

In 2021, Engler said LFR providers recognized patients experiencing typical and atypical non-traumatic chest pain/ACS (Acute Coronary Syndrome) symptoms and performed a 12-lead ECG 96.7% of the time. These providers then notified the hospital within 10 minutes of the first STEMI (ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction or serious heart attack) identified 12-lead ECG 93.6% of the time. All of these patients were transported to the appropriate hospital with cardiac catheterization capabilities. This recognition, notification, and accurate transportation gives our STEMI, or more serious heart attack patients the best chance of survival, Engler said.

LFR also follows protocols derived from AHA/American College of Cardiology guidelines. These tools, training, and practices allow emergency medical providers to rapidly identify suspected heart attack patients, promptly notify the hospital and trigger an early response from hospital staff. Agencies that receive the Mission: Lifeline® Gold Plus Award have consistently demonstrated compliance for each required achievement measure for seven years and above and beyond criteria identifying LFR as a Gold Plus recipient for the past five years.

For more information on the AHA's Mission: Lifeline®, visit heart.org/missionlifeline and heart.org/quality. More information on LFR is available at fire.lincoln.ne.gov.