DENVILLE — 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.
Saint Clare’s Health recognizes the importance of high-quality CPR competency, performance and delivery in saving more lives. The Resuscitation Quality Improvement® program (RQI®), co-developed by the American Heart Association and Laerdal Medical, was implemented at Saint Clare’s Health in 2017 to help healthcare professionals achieve, master and sustain high-quality CPR skills and competency, resulting in improved patient outcomes.
The American Heart Association and Laerdal Medical recently recognized Saint Clare’s Health for its commitment to high-quality CPR competency through adoption and implementation of the RQI program. Among the first hospitals in New Jersey, and the only one in Morris County, to adopt this program, Saint Clare’s has become a true RQI champion, exemplifying successful implementation and staff participation and serving as an ideal role model in creating a culture of resuscitation excellence. Saint Clare’s currently has five RQI skills stations placed at the point-of-care locations in our three facilities.
“Training and development of skills is essential to patient care,” states Brian Finestein, CEO, Saint Clare’s Health. “Our patients deserve the best possible care from Saint Clare’s and the RQI program helps to ensure that our staff is consistently engaged in CPR practice sessions able to react at a moment’s notice without hesitation and have the skill set and equipment necessary to ensure improved patient outcomes.”
Last July, the American Heart Association 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, introduced in January, 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. Furthering its commitment to improved quality and patient care, Saint Clare’s Health will transition to the RQI 2020 platform later this year.
To provide a complete solution to hospitals, a brand new offering – RQI Responder – is now available for use by non-clinical healthcare staff who are not directly involved in patient care. The addition of RQI Responder will ensure that every hospital employee, clinical and non-clinical, is prepared to respond to a cardiac arrest event and able to provide high-quality CPR.
