Sarasota County Fire Department again recognized by American Heart Association for treatment protocols

Department has earned Gold Plus standard every year since 2016, when designation was created

Fire Chief Mike Regnier. File photo

The Sarasota County Fire Department (SCFD) again has 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,” the county has announced.

SCFD first received the highest status of recognition from the Mission: Lifeline program in 2013, a news release notes. The Department has earned the Gold Plus standard since 2016, when that designation was created, the release adds. This year, SCFD is one of 18 agencies in the state of Florida to receive the recognition.

“We are grateful to our personnel and the local hospitals for their collaboration to help us achieve this recognition,” said Sarasota County Fire Chief Michael Regnier in the release. “This award is yet another indication of the elite medical service that SCFD is so proud of,” Regnier added in the release.

In 2019, 4% of the nearly 60,000 emergency calls for SCFD Emergency Medical Service (EMS) response were cardiac-related, the release points out.

SCFD personnel continue “to exceed the benchmark for recognizing a heart attack and notifying the hospital in less than 10 minutes” that expedited care will be needed upon arrival, the release adds.

“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,” said Sarasota County Emergency Services Director Rich Collins in the release. “This recognition from the American Heart Association exemplifies the first-rate care SCFD provides to the community,” Collins added.

The American Heart Association program also provides tools, training and other resources to support heart attack care, following protocols generated by the most recent treatment guidelines, the release adds.