Cranberry EMS Wins National Honor

CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, PA - The American Heart Association has honored Cranberry Township’s Emergency Medical Service for its continuing involvement in the association’s Mission Lifeline-EMS program. The program requires participating agencies to follow a series of evidence-based treatment guidelines to improve patient care and outcomes for those experiencing severe heart attacks.

The Mission: Lifeline’s Silver Plus EMS award that Cranberry EMS received recognizes emergency medical services for care strategies that enable them to quickly identify suspected heart attack patients, promptly notify a nearby medical center, and trigger an early response from waiting hospital personnel.

Every year, more than 250,000 people experience an ST elevation myocardial infarction, or STEMI, which is the deadliest type of heart attack. It is caused when blood flow to the heart is blocked. To keep the patient alive, restoring blood flow as quickly as possible, either by mechanically opening the blocked vessel or by providing clot-busting medication, is critical.

According to the national Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival, the survival rate for the 22 cardiac arrest patients who had been treated by Cranberry EMS in 2017 was well above the national average: 50 percent versus 36.5 percent.

One major reason for the difference is a better educated public. According to the report, the intervention of bystanders who knew how to administer CPR until the EMS ambulance arrived took place in 54.5 percent of the incidents in Cranberry. The national average is 39.4 percent.

Cranberry EMS offers a variety of classes in CPR and AED throughout the year. Its short “hands-only” CPR classes are open to the public and free of charge. This year’s class will be held in November.

More detailed classes offering certification in CPR/AED and First Aid, are available every other month. This year, they will be taught on August 18, October 20, and December 15. A $40 tuition applies to each of the certificate courses. Online registration is available at: www.ctems51.org.