SARASOTA COUNTY — The Sarasota County Fire Department (SCFD) again earned national recognition from the American Heart Association, receiving the 2026 Mission: Lifeline^® EMS - Gold with Target: Stroke Honor Roll. This achievement highlights SCFD’s commitment to providing rapid, research-based care to people experiencing the most severe form of heart attacks and strokes, ultimately saving lives. 

The Mission: Lifeline EMS award focuses on agencies’ on-scene patient care, emphasizing the collaboration and contributions of prehospital providers to overall patient outcomes. SCFD has received the highest recognition each year since 2016 from the American Heart Association. The Target: Stroke Honor Roll is an additional distinction that highlights the collaboration and contributions of both prehospital agencies and hospitals. To qualify for this recognition, SCFD met specific criteria that reduce the time between a patient’s first medical contact via EMS to hospital arrival and treatment with thrombolytic therapy or thrombectomy intervention.

In 2025, 4.7% of SCFD Emergency Medical Service (EMS) responses were related to cardiac or stroke incidents. Each day, SCFD transports more than 100 patients to area hospitals, 8% of those are cardiac or stroke emergencies.

“Our Sarasota County Fire Department personnel and our partners at local hospitals do incredible work and collaborate on a daily basis to help us achieve this recognition,” said Sarasota County Fire Chief David Rathbun. “We are dedicated to providing the best possible care to all our patients who rely on us and we thank our partners in care. Sarasota County Fire Department is honored to be recognized once again for our continual efforts to better serve our community.”

According to the American Heart Association, the Mission: Lifeline EMS program honors prehospital agencies nationwide for excellence in heart attack and stroke care.

“This recognition from the American Heart Association exemplifies the high-level care Sarasota County Fire Department provides to the community, when every second counts," said Sarasota County Emergency Services Director Rich Collins. “Our personnel train daily to serve Sarasota County and this award is evidence of that continuous dedication to excellence.”

For more information, visit scgov.net/fire or dial 311.

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About Sarasota County Fire Department: Sarasota County Fire Department is an internationally accredited, all-hazards response department that protects life and property through fire prevention, fire suppression, emergency medical services and special operations response serving unincorporated Sarasota County and the City of Sarasota. 

About Mission: Lifeline - Mission: Lifeline EMS® recognition is the American Heart Association’s program that recognizes prehospital emergency agencies for their quality of care for heart attack and stroke patients. The recognition program focuses on transforming care quality by connecting all heart attack and stroke care components into a seamlessly integrated care system. Key tenets of these systems of care reinforce evidence-based guidelines and measure performance, identify gaps, and engage in quality improvement. Learn more at heart.org.