Christian Hospital garners national EMS Award

Christian Hospital Emergency Medical Services [EMS] has received the American Heart Association Mission Lifeline EMS Gold achievement award “for its commitment to offering rapid, research-based, life-saving care to people experiencing the most severe form of heart attacks and strokes.”

EMS staff begin treatment immediately after arriving at a health crisis, resuscitating someone whose heart has stopped. This vital care can save a life because it can sometimes begin an hour sooner than if someone travels to the hospital by car. People transported by ambulance may also receive faster treatment at the hospital.

“Christian Hospital is honored to be recognized by the American Heart Association for our dedication to providing optimal care for heart attack patients,” said Brian Hokamp, Christian Hospital EMS chief.

“The Mission: Lifeline program puts proven knowledge and guidelines to work on a daily basis, so patients have the best possible chance of survival.”

Mission: Lifeline EMS is a national initiative to advance the system of care for patients with high-risk, time-sensitive disease states, such as severe heart attacks and strokes. The program helps reduce barriers to prompt treatment — starting from when 911 is called, to EMS transport and continuing through hospital treatment and discharge. Optimal care for heart attack and stroke patients takes coordination between the individual prehospital providers and health care systems.

“Arguably the most important link in the chains of survival for acute stroke and cardiovascular emergencies is emergency medical services and prehospital professionals,” said Edward Jauch, M.D., MS, MBA, chair of the department of research at the University of North Carolina Health Sciences at Mountain Area Health Center.

“Early condition identification, stabilization and prehospital interventions, and initiation of actions within the regional systems of care provide patients with the best chance for receiving expedient definitive therapies leading to optimal outcomes and maximized quality of life.

Christian Hospital is also a recipient of the AHA Mission: Lifeline System of Care Target: Heart Attack award.

The award highlights the collaboration and contributions of both prehospital and hospital providers. This time-critical award level is limited to those agencies that provide patient transport to STEMI-receiving and STEMI-referring centers.

Christian Hospital, located in north St. Louis County and a founding member of BJC HealthCare, is ranked #5 in the St. Louis metro area and #11 in Missouri by U.S. News and World Report for 2022-23. It is ranked in the top 7% of all Missouri hospitals.