When someone experiences cardiac arrest, a heart attack or a stroke, reliable communication between dispatch, EMS crews and receiving hospitals can mean the difference between life and death. Yet as mobile technologies — from telehealth platforms to mobile stroke units — rapidly transform emergency response, critical gaps in systems of care can arise, leaving lives in the balance.
To mark National EMS Week, the American Heart Association, a relentless force changing the future of health for everyone everywhere, is launching an initiative to address those gaps directly and foster the best use of technology in emergency response systems of care. The Association will convene EMS agency leadership, hospital executives and public health partners to identify where technology can be better used to close critical gaps and produce recommendations to strengthen emergency response for the future.
Through this initiative, supported by T-Mobile, the Association will gather insights into emergency communication processes across agencies in 13 cities:
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Buffalo, New York
- Charlotte, North Carolina
- Chicago, Illinois
- Cincinnati, Ohio
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Detroit, Michigan
- Houston, Texas
- Indianapolis, Indiana
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- San Francisco, California
This new initiative will be integrated into the American Heart Association's Mission: Lifeline® EMS program to help systems of care work better together. Mission: Lifeline EMS engages more than 1,000 EMS agencies, building on an established national network of recognition and improvement. The initiative is part of the American Heart Association's Nation of Lifesavers movement, a national effort aiming to double survival rates from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest by 2030.
"When communication breaks down in the chain of survival, people die. This initiative translates our national mission into market-level action — working alongside EMS leaders to improve care in real communities," said Kacey Kronenfeld, M.D., FAEMS, volunteer co-chair of the American Heart Association's EMS Task Force. "The American Heart Association is uniquely positioned to lead this work, in its role as a national convener shaping next-generation emergency response."
A national effort, led by local action
In each of the 13 target markets, the American Heart Association will host regional system of care forums bringing together EMS leaders to identify and close communication and technology gaps. These forums — held in each city market — will generate market-level insights that feed into national learning, comparative data analysis and actionable improvement strategies.
Annual national roundtables, co-hosted by the Association and T-Mobile, will convene technology leaders from EMS agencies across the target markets to shape the future of emergency communication systems.
"Connectivity saves lives — and that's not just a tagline for us," said Rod Cruz, vice president of growth and emerging businesses, T-Mobile. "Supporting the American Heart Association in improving how EMS teams, dispatchers and hospitals communicate is a natural extension of that commitment."
With T-Mobile's financial support, the Association also will work to expand participation in Mission: Lifeline EMS recognition nationwide — encouraging more EMS agencies across the country to meet the program's standards for guideline-directed care in cardiac and stroke emergencies.
