SARASOTA COUNTY – Sarasota County Fire Department (SCFD) again earned the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline EMS Gold Plus award, an achievement that demonstrates the continued implementation of quality improvement measures for treating severe heart attack patients.
SCFD first received the highest status of recognition from the Mission: Lifeline program in 2013, and has earned the Gold Plus standard since 2016, when that designation was created. This year, SCFD is one of 18 agencies in the state of Florida to receive the Gold Plus recognition. 
“Sarasota County Fire Department continues our dedication to providing the best possible care to all patients and we are honored to be recognized once again for these efforts,” said Sarasota County Fire Chief Michael Regnier. “We are grateful to our personnel and the local hospitals for their collaboration to help us achieve this recognition.This award is yet another indication of the elite medical service that SCFD is so proud of.”
In 2019, four percent of nearly 60,000 emergency calls for SCFD Emergency Medical Service (EMS) response were cardiac-related.
SCFD continues to exceed the benchmark for recognizing a heart attack and notifying the hospital in less than 10 minutes for expedited care upon arrival to area hospitals.
“The addition of Advanced Life Support engines and Rapid Response vehicles, along with the specialized training SCFD personnel received, has allowed the department to further enhance care for all patients. This recognition from the American Heart Association exemplifies the first-rate care SCFD provides to the community,” said Sarasota County Emergency Services Director Rich Collins.
According to the American Heart Association, the Mission: Lifeline EMS program “recognizes emergency medical services for their efforts in improving systems of care to rapidly identify suspected heart attack patients, promptly notify the medical center and trigger an early response from the awaiting hospital personnel.”
The program also provides tools, training and other resources to support heart attack care following protocols from the most recent evidence-based treatment guidelines.
For more information, call the Sarasota County Contact Center at 941-861-5000.
Sarasota County prohibits discrimination in all services, programs or activities. View the complete policy at www.scgov.net (keywords: ADA compliance)