CT Fire Department Recognized for Heart Attack Response
Source Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn./TNS
Jul. 17—Chief Medical Officer Josh Recker said this is the second year in a row that the East Hartford Fire Department was recognized by the American Heart Association under the Mission: Lifeline program.
Recker said the guidelines for the award largely revolve around time, including response and arrival time and time to alerting hospitals and sending critical information on patients.
"The hospital is also involved," Recker said. "Whatever hospital the patient goes to, they need to meet certain time requirements."
Recker said treating heart attacks is a "team effort," and early detection and alerts are important to help hospitals prepare for patients in order to improve patient outcome.
"The sooner they can fix it, the less damage happens to your heart," Recker said.
The gold level of the award is awarded to agencies with a greater than 75% compliance for a number of required measures, including evaluation and treatment of suspected strokes and severe heart attacks prior to arrival at a hospital.
Recker said the department treated 451 patients with chest pain in 2022. Out of those, 13 were having a STEMI, he said.
In 2022, East Hartford received $875,000 from the federal Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, an American Rescue Plan Act program, to fund firefighting equipment and training including 10 LUCAS automated CPR compression machines. The devices help first responders treat patients experiencing cardiac arrest, improving the likelihood of a positive outcome.
East Hartford firefighters received another $533,000 from the program this year, with spending focused on training and thermal imaging cameras.
Recker said the Mission: Lifeline program helps improve patients' chances of survival by applying proven knowledge and guidelines to daily operations.
" The East Hartford Fire Department is honored to be recognized by the American Heart Association for our dedication to providing optimal care for heart attack patients," he said.
The town's fire department has been recognized by the American Heart Association with other awards in the past, including a Lifetime EMS Award and HEART Safe Community designations.
Mission: Lifeline is designed to create an integrated care system for all heart attack and stroke cases for all pre-hospital agencies. Guidelines of the program include notifying hospitals of STEMI cases and possible strokes prior to arrival, and performing critical evaluation and immediate care on patients.
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