Englewood Health Emergency Medical Services Receives Highest Achievement Award from American Heart Association

Recognition highlights Englewood Health as a leader in lowering door-to-balloon time, ensuring faster treatment for heart attack patients and better outcomes.

August 1, 2024 — Englewood Health’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) has received the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Mission: Lifeline® EMS Gold with Target: Heart Attack Honor Roll achievement award, the highest possible award, for its commitment to delivering rapid and research-based life-saving care.

This is the ninth time that Englewood Health EMS has received the Mission: Lifeline EMS award, with the last eight years awarded at the gold level. Englewood Health’s average door-to-balloon time—the time from a patient’s arrival at the hospital to the moment they receive balloon angioplasty to open blocked arteries during a heart attack—with EMS transportation is 55.96 minutes. This is significantly better than the national benchmark of 90 minutes, showcasing Englewood Health’s exceptional efficiency in emergency cardiovascular care and ensuring faster treatment for heart attack patients and better outcomes.

“This nationally coveted award recognizes the dedication of our EMS team to ensuring swift and effective treatment from the moment of first medical contact through patient transport and transfer to definitive care at the hospital emergency department,” said Richard Sposa, MA, NRP, MICP, director of EMS/emergency preparedness at Englewood Health.

Achieving the esteemed Lifeline EMS Gold award means that Englewood Health’s EMS team consistently adhered to the AHA’s rigorous guidelines and demonstrated excellence in the rapid identification and treatment of high-risk, time-sensitive conditions, such as ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI heart attacks) and strokes.

“Englewood Health exemplifies excellence in rapid response, coordination, and communication during critical interventions. The collaboration between our EMS and hospital teams enables this high level of care. I extend my heartfelt congratulations and gratitude to each team member for their exceptional dedication to our community,” said Barbara Schreibman, MD, FACEP, EMS medical director and associate chief of emergency medicine at Englewood Hospital.