The State of Utah uses the spectrum of EMS professionals given the span of geographies ranging from remote wilderness to urban populations. Over a third of the State’s 3 million population lives in rural settings so that advanced paramedics may not be available early on after 9-1-1 activation and instead the response relies on EMTs or even volunteer first responders. To address these challenges, the EMS has a strong network of medical direction that enables a unified and coordinated approach to cardiac arrest resuscitation. The network provides a platform for a statewide approach to EMS continuing education so that the state can collectively disseminate and train on best practices while also taking into account the distinct resources across systems or communities.
- Measurement – The State has long committed to population-based measurement and has engaged EMS and hospital stakeholders across Utah to participate in the CARES registry. Chris Stratford has been a reliable and integral expert in his role as state coordinator.
- Statewide EMS Training Platform – With the leadership of Dr. Peter Taillac, Utah has committed to training all of its EMS organizations in high-performance or “pit-crew” CPR. The strategy will take advantage of the training network to convene specially-focused Resuscitation Academies that will train EMS to achieve “perfect CPR” in an effort to improve cardiac arrest care across the State.
- Innovation – The Salt Lake City Fire Department achieves some of the highest survival rates in the world for patients suffering cardiac arrest. Under the medical direction of Scott Youngquist, this proactive group takes the science to the streets as they seek to improve outcomes. The group is currently piloting ultrasound technology to better characterize heart function during resuscitation