By EMS1 Staff
MINNEAPOLIS — Three more states joined a project dedicated to increasing sudden cardiac arrest survival rates.
The HeartRescue Project is a collaborative forum that lets partners share strategies to improve survival rates for sudden cardiac arrest victims. Recently, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont joined the organization, bringing the total number of states to 15.
“While every community is different, the facts about sudden cardiac arrest and the strategies for how to treat it are the same everywhere,” University of Washington Medicine Professor and King County EMS Director Thomas Rea said. “The actions that can save lives in Seattle will also save lives in a small town in New England or a big city in the Midwest. HeartRescue United States provides a forum for collaboration between researchers, medical teams and regulators working with systems across the nation to improve survival rates.”
HeartRescue members commit to submit data to CARES, the Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival. CARES collects the data from different EMS agencies so others can use it.
“Measuring our performance is absolutely critical to improving the care we provide and patient outcomes,” Arizona Bureau of EMS and Trauma System Medical Director Ben Bobrow said. “Only through continuous measurement and evaluation, are we will be able to see what is working and what is not, and make sure every cardiac arrest victim in the state is getting the best possible treatment and chance at survival.”
Members also attend a resuscitation academy, which serves as an educational program that gives leaders the tools to make evidence-based changes in their communities. Then, they develop and host similar academies in their states.