Brookfield EMS and McGonigle Ambulance Service Receives AHA Mission Lifeline EMS Award

September 30, 2016 (Sharon, PA) –Sharon Regional Medical Center recently recognized Brookfield Township Fire and EMS and McGonigle Ambulance Service for receiving the American Heart Association’s 2016 Mission: Lifeline® EMS Gold Award at Sharon Regional’s annual Acute Emergency and Critical Care Symposium. The event, hosted by Sharon Regional’s Emergency Care Center in collaboration with Allegheny Health Network and Highmark, was held on Friday, September 30, and was attended by regional healthcare providers and emergency response teams. Speakers at the event provided a series of lectures on topics to include caring for patients with sepsis, autism spectrum disorder, geriatric trauma, and subarachnoid hemorrhages, as well as insight into the newest treatments for ischemic stroke.

As part of the day-long program, the Brookfield Fire and EMS and McGonigle Ambulance Service were presented the American Heart Association’s 2016 Mission: Lifeline® EMS Gold Award. The award recognizes their commitment to implementing specific quality improvement measures for the treatment of patients who suffer a severe heart attack known as a STEMI (ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction), helping to increase the chances of an improved quality of life following a heart attack.

“We want the community to be aware of the commitment put forward by both of these local ambulance services to assist in the effort to provide rapid heart attack care for our region and for earning the Mission: Lifeline EMS Gold Award,” said David Shellenbarger, M.D., FACEP, director of emergency medicine and the Winner EMS Educational Institute at Sharon Regional. “Their efforts are an ideal complement to the treatment programs available for our patients at Sharon Regional’s Heart and Vascular Institute.”

Sharon Regional has been designated the only accredited Chest Pain Center in Mercer and Lawrence Counties by the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care (SCPC). This accreditation is granted for demonstrating an evidence-based practice and protocol driven approach to cardiac patient care, allowing physicians to reduce the time to treatment during the critical stages of a heart attack.

Sharon Regional Medical Center recently received the American College of Cardiology’s NCDR ACTION Registry–Get with the Guidelines Platinum Performance Achievement Award for 2016. Sharon Regional is one of only 223 hospitals nationwide to receive the honor. The award recognizes Sharon Regional’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients and signifies that the organization has reached an aggressive goal of treating these patients to standard levels of care as outlined by the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association clinical guidelines and recommendations.

Sharon Regional also received the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® as a Primary Stroke Center for demonstrating expertise in the early assessment, rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke emergencies.

About Sharon Regional Medical Center 
Sharon Regional Medical Center has provided healthcare services to the region for more than 115 years. Mercer County’s largest hospital and healthcare system consists of a 251-bed Joint Commission accredited hospital along with 23 satellite centers in Sharon, Hermitage, Mercer, New Castle, Brookfield, and Hubbard. Sharon Regional offers specialized services including Advanced Wound Recovery, Behavioral Health, Breast Care, Cancer Care, Diabetes, Emergency Care with specialized stroke and heart attack care, Mercer County’s only open heart/angioplasty/advanced heart care, Rehab, Sleep Medicine, Sports Medicine, Inpatient Rehabilitation, School of Nursing, School of Radiography, Women’s Center. For more information visit HTTP://WWW.SHARONREGIONAL.COM/SHARON-REGIONAL-HEALTH-SYSTEM/ABOUTUS.ASPX

About Mission: Lifeline
The American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline® program helps hospitals and emergency medical services develop systems of care that follow proven standards and procedures for STEMI patients. The program works by mobilizing teams across the continuum of care to implement American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology clinical treatment guidelines. For more information, visit HEART.ORG/MISSIONLIFELINE and HEART.ORG/QUALITY.