Horizon Health Ambulance Service Nationally Recognized

Horizon Health’s ambulance service has received national recognition for its excellence in heart attack and stroke care.

The American Heart Association (AHA) 2024 Mission: Lifeline EMS Silver Achievement Award honors Horizon Health Emergency Medical Services (EMS) for its commitment to best practices and life-saving care.

“This is a great honor for our team,” said Samantha McCarty, director of Horizon Health Emergency Services. “It highlights our first responders’ collaboration and contributions to provide the highest quality patient care.”

The Silver Achievement Award is the highest level an organization can achieve in its first year of consideration. Additionally, Horizon Health EMS is the only entity to receive the award in Carle Regional EMS.

“This identifies us as an elite provider in the EMS world,” said Adam Webb, Horizon Health EMS manager. “Technically we meet the criteria for the Gold Achievement Award but cannot receive that recognition in our first year.”

Mission: Lifeline EMS advocates a coordinated system of care between prehospital providers and healthcare systems for optimal patient care and outcomes. Horizon Health is recognized for having such a system, which ultimately saves lives.

Horizon Health EMS met the following AHA quality metrics to earn the award:

For Stroke Patients

• Notification to the hospital of a suspected stroke patient prior to EMS arrival.
• Documentation of when the patient was last known to be well prior to experiencing stroke symptoms.
• Evaluation of a patient’s blood glucose level.
• Completion of a stroke screening/assessment with documentation.

For Heart Attack Patients

• Completion of a 12-lead electrocardiogram within 10 minutes of a suspected heart attack.
• Administration of aspirin for a heart attack-positive electrocardiogram.
• Notification to the hospital within 10 minutes or less of a heart attack-positive electrocardiogram.