For the 10th year in a row, the Garland Fire Department has received a Mission: Lifeline EMS Recognition Award from the American Heart Association. This award is for implementing specific quality improvement measures to treat patients who suffer severe heart attacks.
For its continued mastery of performance standards, the department was recognized with the Gold Award for 2023.
“For well over a decade the Garland Fire Department has been outstanding in the way pre-hospital care is delivered,” said Garland Fire Chief Mark Lee. “The American Heart Association has recognized this and has awarded the Mission Lifeline Award for the excellence in care and treatment for cardiac and other vascular emergencies for 10 years in a row. This type of recognition makes for one proud Fire Chief! The crews do great work every day!”
Each year, more than 250,000 people experience an ST elevation myocardial infarction, the deadliest type of heart attack, caused by a blockage of blood flow to the heart. To prevent death, it is critical to restore blood flow as quickly as possible, either by mechanically opening the blocked vessel or by providing clot-busting medication.
The American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline program helps reduce barriers to prompt treatment for heart attacks – starting from when 911 is called, to EMS transport and continuing through hospital treatment and discharge. Optimal care for heart attack patients takes coordination between the individual hospital, EMS and the health care system.
The criteria to achieve the Mission: Lifeline EMS Gold award is based on consistently delivering the right patient to the right hospital in the right amount of time when encountering patients having significant heart attacks. Details can be found at heart.org.
The department also recently hosted its annual awards banquet. Congratulations to:
- Firefighter of the Year: Driver Engineer Michael Stribling
- Paramedic of the Year: Driver Engineer Jordan Garcia
- Officer of the Year: Battalion Chief Casey Lindsay
- Rookie of the Year: Firefighter Dakota Malena
- Staff Person of the Year: Firefighter Lance Fulmer
- Friend of the Fire Department: Laura Hendershot, City of Garland Financial Services Department
Recent promotions, new recruits and 2023 retirees were also honored at the awards presentation.
For more information on GFD and its emergency medical services, visit GarlandFire.com.
Information provided by city of Garland.