Huntington Beach Fire Department cardiac care again earns top honors from American Heart Assn.
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Time is money, but when it comes to cardiac care, time is muscle.
“Every time you have a major heart attack, your heart muscle is dying,” Huntington Beach Fire Department Division Chief Justin Fleming explained. “If too much of it dies, your heart stops. The thing is, once it dies, it doesn’t repair itself, so you have a very small window [of time] to get that reopened and get the blood flow going again.”
The Huntington Beach Fire Department has again earned top marks from the American Heart Assn. for its excellence in cardiac care.
Huntington Beach received “gold” recognition in the AHA’s 2024 Mission: Lifeline EMS program for the fifth straight year, Fleming said in a presentation he made Tuesday night to the City Council along with the department’s chief medical officer, Dr. Rombod Rahimian.
The Mission: Lifeline EMS program was launched in 2014 and celebrates achievement of pre-hospital providers in cardiac care, as well as their collaboration with local hospitals.
Fleming said the HBFD has been the only department in Orange County over the last few years to receive the top “gold” recognition.
He said the honor was a result of excellence from firefighters and paramedics in cardiac care.
“You want your community to know how well the department’s performing, and this is a good example, because I think it’s something that’s relatable to everybody,” Fleming said. “Cardiac issues affect every household across the United States, so our community can feel good knowing that, ‘Hey, if I’m going to have a heart attack or acute coronary syndrome in the city of Huntington Beach and my fire department shows up, I already know I’m getting some of the best care available.’”
Metrics measured for the AHA recognition included performing a 12-lead electrocardiogram acquisition within 10 minutes of arrival, and the transmission of that EKG to local hospitals, decreasing the time between heart attack recognition and administration of care at a cardiac receiving center.
Local hospital partners include Huntington Beach Hospital, Hoag Memorial, Orange Coast Memorial and UCI Health — Fountain Valley.
Fleming said that Huntington Beach first started transmitting EKGs in 2014, a trailblazer in the county in that effort.
“Before we’ve even left the scene, the hospital is already getting ready for that person to show up,” Fleming said. “That’s the most important thing … It’s about quality of life, too. We save so much heart muscle that hopefully, if you had a major heart attack, you’re walking out and you can go ride a bike still, versus having to sit in a wheelchair.”
He gave the example of a surfer having a heart attack, which could have been thought of as a drowning.
“Our paramedics know, because they’ve been working this area a long time, and they’ve been on a number of these,” Fleming said. “We recognized it, got him there, got the intervention done and the person walks out of the hospital able to surf again. That’s the kind of stuff that we’re proud of.”
Rahimian, an emergency medicine specialist, called the American Heart Assn. honor a team award.
“Really, in emergency care, you’ve got to be outstanding at your assessment and outstanding at performing procedures when needed,” he said. “We drill on those things. It’s almost like basketball practice, right? You practice, because once you get to game time you stop thinking, you’re able to do and do with success.”
Members of the City Council praised the Huntington Beach Fire Department’s efforts.
“We are very fortunate here in Huntington Beach,” Councilman Don Kennedy said. “We truly have America’s finest fire department, hands down … The department is incredible, it starts with the leadership, all the way down the line, so thank you.”
