San Juan Regional Health

San Juan Regional Medical Center’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) department is the proud recipient of the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline® EMS Gold Award for implementing quality improvement measures to treat patients who experience severe heart attacks. San Juan Regional Medical Center is the only hospital to receive this award in the state of New Mexico.

When a serious and potentially deadly type of heart attack called a STEMI occurs, it’s critical to restore blood flow as quickly as possible to prevent death. Mission: Lifeline’s goal is to save lives by closing the gaps that separate these patients from timely access to appropriate treatments. San Juan Regional Medical Center delivers education in STEMI identification; provides access to 12-lead ECGs which measure the electrical activity of the heart and can help determine if a heart attack has occurred; and develops protocols based on American Heart Association guidelines. These crucial steps allow EMS providers to rapidly identify suspected heart attack patients, promptly notify the medical center, and trigger an early response from the awaiting hospital personnel. This greatly improves the quality of care and quality of life for patients.

Agencies that receive the Mission: Lifeline® Gold award have demonstrated at least 75 percent compliance for each required achievement measure for two years.

“EMTs and paramedics play a vital part in the system of care for those who have heart attacks,” said James Jollis, M.D., Chair of the Mission: Lifeline Advisory Working Group. “Since they often are the first medical point of contact, they can shave precious minutes of life-saving treatment time by activating the emergency response system that alerts hospitals. We applaud San Juan Regional Medical Center for achieving this award that shows it meets evidence-based guidelines in the treatment of people who have severe heart attacks.”

“Our participation in Mission: Lifeline® demonstrates our commitment to providing quality care to our patients,” said San Juan Regional Medical Center EMS Manager Renee Alford. “We are proud to be a part of the American Heart Association’s efforts to save lives.”

The department will be presented with its Mission: Lifeline® award at a conference in Albuquerque July 15.