Central EMS is one of only 8 agencies in Arkansas that received the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline EMS Gold Plus Award. The agency met a benchmark of completing an electrocardiogram (EKG) within 10 minutes of arriving to treat a patient and transmitting its results to the hospital before the patient’s arrival. The transmission allows cardiac specialists to meet a goal of getting a patient experiencing a heart attack into a catheterization lab within 90 minutes.
In addition to meeting these criteria, Central EMS is working to improve cardiac survival rates in Washington County by teaching CPR to fire department personnel, teaching “Hands Only CPR” at schools and community events, and advocating Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) for schools, churches, and businesses throughout the area. According to Central EMS’s Chief Becky Stewart, “Our cardiac arrest save rate is 40% in Washington County, significantly better than the nationwide average of 6% and we are proud of the hard work that our paramedics and EMTs do, and excited that they received the recognition that they deserve.” Chief Stewart also emphasized the importance of calling an ambulance when you think a person is experiencing a medical emergency, “Too often, people think of an ambulance as a fast taxi to the hospital. In reality, our crews are healthcare providers and are able to perform procedures in the field and on the way to the ER that can have an amazing impact on the patient’s outcome.”
“Our cardiac arrest save rate is 40% in Washington County, significantly better than the nationwide average of 6% and we are proud of the hard work that our paramedics and EMTs do, and excited that they received the recognition that they deserve.”