Henrietta, NY, March 24, 2011 — On March 18, the Henrietta Fire District held a mock training drill involving a man collapsed on a rooftop who suffered a sudden cardiac arrest. CHS Healthcare was requested to assist in the scenario, providing medical care to the victim.

Both agencies have jointly started working together on a new approach to managing & caring for patient who has suffered a cardiac arrest. The new protocol, entitled “Focused Cardiac Arrest”, better synchronizes and streamlines the roles & responsibilities of each crewmember who assist with patient care. The training drill afforded both the opportunity for both agencies to work together, practicing the new protocol in a real-life scenario environment.

“Our goal is to increase the survival rate of patients who suffer a sudden cardiac arrest. This new protocol is based on a very successful program in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, where they now see a 75% return of spontaneous circulation rate for their patients. The national average is currently 4-5%. While our patients’ survival rate is currently higher than the national average, we believe we can do better.”, said Reg Allen, Chief of CHS Healthcare.

CHS Healthcare currently treats approximately 30 patients per year who have gone into cardiac arrest. The agency is the first in the area to roll out this new approach, while partnering directly with the local fire department. It is believed that many other local EMS and fire agencies will soon begin adopting this same protocol in the near future.