TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR MIDWAY FIRE RESCUE OF GEORGETOWN COUNTY AND TO CONGRATULATE ITS MEMBERS FOR RECEIVING THE INTERNATIONAL HEART SAFE COMMUNITY AWARD FROM THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIRE CHIEFS' EMS SECTION.

Whereas, the South Carolina House of Representatives is pleased to learn that Midway Fire Rescue was honored as the 2015 recipient of the international Heart Safe Community Award from the International Association of Fire Chiefs' EMS section at the 2015 Fire-Rescue Med conference in Nevada from March 23 through 25, 2015; and

Whereas, presented to one large and one small community annually, the award recognized Midway Fire Rescue as the winner for a small community, one with a population under one hundred thousand; and

Whereas, the award honors fire-service-based emergency medical services (EMS) and other EMS systems that have used creative approaches to implement or maintain public access defibrillation programs within the communities they serve; and

Whereas, initially the award considered the establishment of Public Access Defibrillation (PAD) programs by fire and EMS agencies in their communities, and in 2005, the award criteria were expanded to reflect the 2005 American Heart Association guidelines; and

Whereas, to apply for the award now, agencies must show how they have improved the quality of out-of-hospital resuscitation through bystander CPR, automated external defibrillator (AED) deployment, advanced notification to the receiving hospital, and other continuous quality resuscitation improvements; and

Whereas, Midway Fire Rescue has implemented programs to improve its emergency medical service to its diverse community of both permanent and seasonal residents, as well as to tourists; and

Whereas, in an aggressive program, Midway Fire Rescue updated its equipment, including the purchase of new LifePak monitors; improved communications with the community's hospital system; and decreased the time interval between when heart attack patients arrive at the hospital and the time they receive percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI); and

Whereas, although the Georgetown agency has received numerous state honors, this international award denotes the remarkable standard of excellence and the extraordinary quality of care provided by Midway Fire Rescue; and

Whereas, a supportive Georgetown County Council and administrative team have allowed Midway Fire Rescue to acquire necessary equipment and set policies to ensure a high level of function; and

Whereas, the efforts of Midway Fire Rescue have succeeded in improving survivability rates of patients across the community, thereby saving lives every day and creating a safer community for residents in Georgetown County; and

Whereas, the South Carolina House of Representatives deeply appreciates the outstanding and unparalleled work of Midway Fire Rescue in protecting the lives of the citizens in our great State, most particularly those in Georgetown County. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives recognize and honor Midway Fire Rescue of Georgetown County and congratulate its members for receiving the international Heart Safe Community Award from the International Association of Fire Chiefs' EMS section.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Doug Eggiman Chief of Midway Fire Rescue.