Virginia Beach EMS Nationally Recognized Second Consecutive Year for Heart Attack and Stroke Care

Virginia Beach EMS has received two national achievement awards from the American Heart Association. For the second consecutive year, the department was awarded the Mission: Lifeline EMS Gold achievement award that honors the crucial role EMS providers play in cardiac and stroke patients’ care.

The department also received the Mission: Lifeline System of Care Target Heart Attack award, which highlights the collaboration between prehospital and hospital providers. The award is limited to agencies that provide patient transport to STEMI-receiving and STEMI-referring centers. STEMI stands for ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction, which is the most severe type of heart attack.

VB EMS has achieved the Gold award for the past four years and the honor roll — or its former designation, PLUS — for the past three years.

“This is an incredible achievement for our department — both career and volunteer providers — and highlights the many countless hours of training as well as the service they dedicate every single day,” EMS Chief Jason Stroud said. “I’m grateful to each and every member for their commitment to care and devoted service to our community.” 

Systems of Care

Capt. Will Shackelford, who oversees continuous quality improvement for the department, said Virginia Beach EMS meets measures of care for both heart attacks and strokes. The goal of these measures is to increase the chances of identifying whether a patient is suffering a heart attack or stroke and alert the hospital ahead of time. This collaboration between providers and hospitals gives patients the best chance at survival and quality of life. These are the measures that EMS uses: 

Heart Measures 

• Identify patient – are they exhibiting subtle symptoms, if so, do a diagnostics test such as an EKG that can identify if a STEMI is occurring. 
• Give STEMI patients aspirin – patient outcomes are better when aspirin is taken during a suspected heart attack. 
• Notify hospital early – hospital providers can start their processes and allow them to give expedient treatment to the patient. 

Stroke Measures 

• Quickly identify stroke patients using the BE FAST scale:
  • Balance – Sudden loss of balance? 
  • Eyes – Changes in vision in one of both eyes?  
  • Face – Face looks uneven? 
  • Arm – Arm or leg weak/hanging down? 
  • Speech – Speech slurred? Trouble speaking or seem confused?  
  • Terrible Headache – Thunderclap headache? Worst headache of your life? 
• Alert hospital 
• Check blood sugar – low blood sugar symptoms can mimic a stroke. 
• Document Last Known Well Time – This helps the hospital determine the right way to treat a possible stroke. 

Community Cares

Shackelford emphasized the program goals and maintained measures means better patient care for residents and decrease in morbidity and mortality rates for cardiac issues.  

“Fire, volunteers and career providers, hospital providers are working together to ensure our community is better served for cardiac health as whole,” Shackelford said. “In terms of the what the community can do—call 911 immediately when someone or a family member has symptoms of a heart attack or stroke.” 

He added that knowing CPR is good, too. The VB Rescue volunteer rescue squads provide CPR training throughout the year to organizations, groups and churches that request it. To request training, email EMSTrain@vbgov.com. 

“The achievement of receiving this prestigious award is a testament to the training, dedication and state-of-the-art technology our providers use that has resulted in high success in prehospital cardiac care for patients,” EMS Division Chief Bruce Nedelka said. “Without the dedication of our career and volunteer providers, we would not be able to attain this national recognition for multiple years.” 

More Resources

Learn the signs and symptoms of a stroke:  

• befast.org  
• Stroke Smart Virginia 

Spread the Word

VB Rescue – Emergency Medical Services’ unique system, comprises career and volunteer providers from 10 different rescue squads that provide quality pre-hospital patient care, education and rescue services.   

Residents interested in joining this unique system do not need to have a medical background. In fact, that’s what makes VB EMS unique — its members come from all backgrounds and professions.  

• If you’re ready to answer the call and volunteer, visit ems.virginiabeach.gov/volunteer to start your application.  
• For information about career opportunities, visit ems.virginiabeach.gov/careers.  

EMS is an award-winning third-service agency that answers more than 53,000 calls for service annually. Through VB Rescue, EMS utilizes a combined career-volunteer workforce and was named a 2023 American Heart Association Mission: Lifeline Gold EMS Agency. Learn more about EMS by visiting ems.virginiabeach.gov. You can also contact Virginia Beach EMS at vbems@vbgov.com.