Quality care earns department Gold

For the second year in a row, the Farmers Branch Fire Department received the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline EMS Gold Achievement Award.

The award recognizes the department’s commitment to providing fast, evidence-based care to people experiencing the most severe forms of heart attacks and strokes.

Emergency Medical Services personnel can begin treatment immediately up arrival, up to an hour sooner than if a patient arrives at an emergency room by car and is trained to deliver critical resuscitation efforts to those whose hearts have stopped. In many cases, patients who arrive at hospitals by ambulance receive faster care at the hospital as well.

Mission: Lifeline EMS is the American Heart Association’s national initiative aimed at improving the system of care for high-risk, time-sensitive conditions such as heart attacks and strokes. The program, which was launched in 2014, works to remove barriers to timely treatment from the moment 911 is called through to discharge from the hospital.

In an email to the Branch Herald, Division Chief of Administration and Training Terry Evans said: “This recognition reflects our unwavering commitment to provide rapid, research-based care for individuals facing life-threatening heart attacks and strokes. Every second counts in these emergencies, and our team is dedicated to delivering the highest standard of care to save lives in our community."

This is the third year FBFD has applied for the award, and while they qualified for the gold achievement the first year as well, they received the Silver Achievement Award as that is the top award the American Heart Association awards to a department its first year.