Frisbie Memorial Hospital Emergency Medical Service (EMS) has earned 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. Frisbie’s EMS has consistently demonstrated continued success in using the American Heart Association’s Mission Lifeline program, achieving its fourth consecutive Mission Lifeline Achievement Award.

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, like Frisbie EMS, for their efforts in improving systems of care to rapidly identify suspected heart attack patients, promptly notify the medical care center and trigger an early response from the awaiting hospital personnel.

Every year, 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 is critical to restore blood flow as quickly as possible, either by mechanically opening the blocked vessel or by providing clot-busting medication.

Frisbie Memorial Hospital’s EMS has served the greater Rochester community for nearly 40 years, providing life-saving treatments and critical care support every day.