AdventHealth Manchester implements resuscitation quality improvement program to increase patient survival from in-hospital cardiac arrest

Manchester, KY, November 19, 2019 — More than 200,000 in-hospital cardiac arrests occur annually in the U.S. with survival rates from adult in-hospital cardiac arrest at less than 26 percent. Patients who suffer a cardiac arrest must receive the highest quality CPR possible, which is known to be the cornerstone for survival. For decades, the CPR training standard for healthcare providers has been Basic Life Support with a requirement for participants to renew their course completion card every two years. However, studies show CPR skills can decay within three to six months following this training.

AdventHealth Manchester recognizes the importance of high-quality CPR competency, performance and delivery in saving more lives. That’s why the Resuscitation Quality Improvement^® (RQI^®) program, co-developed by the American Heart Association^® (AHA) and Laerdal^® Medical, is being implemented to help AdventHealth Manchester achieve sustained mastery of high-quality CPR skills and competency, resulting in improved patient outcomes. The hospital will have 1 RQI station placed at the point-of-care. AdventHealth Manchester is one of the first facilities in the nation to implement RQI 2020, an enhanced resuscitation quality improvement portfolio that was launched by AHA and Laerdal Medical in 2018.

“We are excited to implement the RQI^® program and work with the American Heart Association^® and Laerdal^® Medical to shift to a new standard of resuscitation care – competency,” said Karen Bell, CNO at AdventHealth Manchester. “This illustrates the staff’s commitment to making high-quality CPR a priority organization-wide and furthering our mission to improve patient care and help save more lives.”

Last July, AHA, the leading voluntary health organization devoted to a world of longer, healthier lives, and Laerdal Medical called for a new standard of care by shifting resuscitation practice from course training once every two years to verified CPR competency for healthcare professionals. Introduced in 2015, the RQI program was designed for healthcare professionals with responsibility for patient care. Now, RQI 2020 prepares all healthcare system staff members to deliver high-quality CPR and verify competency in Basic Life Support, Advanced Life Support and Pediatric Advanced Life Support through simulated skills sessions and eLearning simulations.

RQI 2020 provides a high-reliability platform for self-directed, simulation-based mastery learning and performance, which is implemented through “low-dose, high-frequency” hands-on CPR quality improvement sessions, in 10 minutes every 90 days, that measure and verify competency each time. The program also provides analytics that can measure individual, department, facility or system compliance. In addition, it allows for simplified enrollment and offers additional modules for learners when necessary.

AdventHealth Manchester enrolled select clinical staff in the RQI program on November 26, 2019 and expects the onboarding process to continue for the next several months as they implement the program throughout the hospital.

To learn more about the RQI program and the value it brings to hospitals, patient care and communities at-large, visit www.heart.org/RQI and www.rqipartners.com.