A nationwide registry for Cardiac Arrest Resuscitation Survivors, which tracks a number of medically significant indicators, showed a better than average rate of success for patients in the Cranberry EMS service area. Benchmarks included such factors as return of spontaneous circulation and percent of patients who eventually walked out of the hospital with limited disability as a result of their heart attacks. The EMS attributes a significant part of its success to the number of local residents who are both familiar with CPR, who recognize the symptoms, and who apply that lifesaving technique to the victim in the first critical minutes until first responders arrive. Classes in CPR are offered by-monthly by the Cranberry EMS at the Township’s Municipal Center and by request on the site of organizations requesting training for their members. EMS professionals refer to citizens trained in CPR as the first link in a Chain of Survival that includes notifying 9-1-1, prompt arrival of first responders, having the right material on board the ambulance, the quality of post-resuscitation care, delivering the patient to the right facility, and the level of care available there.
The week beginning May 18 is National EMS week. An online subscription form for the organization’s ambulance transport service is available at www.cranberrytownshipems.org. The link also includes frequently asked questions about the service and its reimbursement practices.