Piedmont Medical Center EMS has received the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline^® EMS - Silver achievement award for its commitment to offering rapid and research-based care to people experiencing the most severe form of heart attacks and strokes, ultimately saving lives.

Emergency medical services staff can begin treatment when they arrive — up to an hour sooner than if someone goes to the hospital by car. EMS staff are also trained to provide resuscitation efforts to someone whose heart has stopped. People who arrive by ambulance may also receive faster treatment at the hospital.

Mission: Lifeline EMS^® is the American Heart Association's 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 healthcare 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 Kacey Kronenfeld, M.D., FAEMS, chair of the American Heart Association's Mission: Lifeline EMS Taskforce. “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.

The Mission: Lifeline EMS achievement award focuses on agencies’ on-scene care, bringing to the forefront the collaboration and contributions to patient care for prehospital providers.

“Piedmont Medical Center EMS is honored to be recognized by the American Heart Association for our dedication to providing optimal care for heart attack patients,” said Teresa Urquhart, Market CEO for Piedmont Medical Center. Our team of more than 180 first responders is there to answer the call 24/7, 365 days a year. Their dedication to patients is unmatched and this award is a perfect example of the quality of care each member strives to deliver each day. I am very proud of each of them.”

“The job of an EMS provider is not easy. There are long days and nights, and our team members are there for patients on some of their worst days”, says Chris Mauney, Piedmont Medical Center EMS Director. The Mission” Lifeline program puts proven knowledge and guidelines to work daily, so patients have the best possible chance of survival.”

About Piedmont Medical Center

Piedmont Medical Center (PMC) is a 282-bed full-service, accredited Level III trauma hospital with a comprehensive heart and vascular center and level III NICU that serves York County and beyond. Recently PMC opened Piedmont Medical Center – Fort Mill, a 100-bed community hospital providing robotic surgical services, orthopedics, OB services, and a bariatric surgery program. PMC offers emergency services at three locations, Rock Hill, Fort Mill, and Gold Hill. PMC provides imaging services through the Women’s Diagnostic Center at PMC-Rock Hill and Baxter Village in Fort Mill.