Travis County Fire Rescue – Emergency Service District 11, Austin / Travis County Medical Director Dr. Ed Racht M.D., officials from the City of Creedmoor and representatives from Texas Disposal Systems held a press conference on Tuesday March 20, 2007 at the Creedmoor Texas Disposal Facility). The purpose of the press conference was to announce a new CPR Training initiative in Southeast Travis County. Evidence has shown that early CPR and defibrillation can result in higher survival rates of witnessed cardiac arrest. The challenge is getting CPR training to the people who are most likely to witness a cardiac arrest – Friends and Family.
Texas Disposal Systems is meeting that challenge through a collaborative effort with Travis County Fire Rescue, the City of Creedmoor and the Office of the Austin / Travis County Medical Director to place 250 self directed personal CPR training kits in every home within the City of Creedmoor and those surrounding Creedmoor.
Texas Disposal Systems has donated the funds to purchase this cutting edge training tool and Travis County Fire Rescue will be going door to door to deliver these CPR training kits and encourage every man, woman and child to learn CPR.
Representatives of Texas Disposal Systems and the City of Creedmoor along with Dr. Ed Racht, M.D. and personnel from Travis County Fire Rescue – ESD 11 were on hand to demonstrate this new CPR training kit and answer any questions.
We are proud to announce the Del Valle ISD has received a substantial grant to provide CPR and AED training within the School District. Located in the southeast Austin/Travis County area, the Del Valle ISD submitted an outstanding proposal. The Medtronic Foundation graciously awarded the training grant to Del Valle ISD after reviewing their program proposal named “Save-A-Life”.
Led by the School District Nursing staff, the “Save-a-Life program will begin by increasing the number of school staff trained as CPR instructors. The District plans to utilize non-healthcare provider staff as instructors as a means of increasing the instructional capabilities of the District. In addition, the District will focus on student training at multiple grade levels.
Consistent with the Take Heart Austin initiative, the District will also provide a mechanism for training student parents and family members through various school events. In collaboration with Take Heart Austin, the Del Valle ISD plans to dramatically increase the number of persons trained in traditional CPR methods as well as the number of persons trained in Hands Only CPR. Look for more updates on this noteworthy program in future posts.
The Austin/Travis County Office of the Medical Director has proposed specific criteria and processes for hospitals wishing to be designated as a receiving center for Post Cardiac Arrest patients with return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). This new designation is based on growing evidence supporting the need for Resuscitation Centers in order to improve overall outcomes for these patients. In the Austin/Travis County area, we believe the proportion of post cardiac arrest patients who are discharged neurologically intact from the hospital can be dramatically affected when these specific capabilities and processes are in place.
The concept of a Resuscitation Center of Excellence designation parallels that of the Trauma System development which occurred over the past several years. The concept uses a team approach involving multiple key players, both in-hospital and out-of-hospital. We recognize the value of coordination between the EMS System, the ED staff, Interventional Cardiology, the CCU/ICU staff, Electrophysiology, and Hospital Administration. In terms of cardiac arrest, the Resuscitation Center of Excellence concept emphasizes early use of proven interventions for resuscitation and post-resuscitation care.
This simple and straightforward process focuses on the efficacy of hospital processes as well as the ability to provide data demonstrating effective, ongoing performance.
The key components of the process are:
- commitment to seeking this designation
- demonstrated process and capabilities for 24/7 therapeutic hypothermia
- demonstrated process and capabilities for 24/7 selection of patients with a suspected acute myocardial infarction prior to cardiac arrest and provision of percutaneous coronary intervention to these patients
- demonstrated process and capabilities for continued post resuscitation care and risk reduction
- commitment to coordinate with the EMS System to exchange data for the purposes of quality improvement
Beginning in September 2008 (anticipated start date), post cardiac arrest patients with return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) transported by the Austin/Travis County EMS System will only be transported to hospitals designated as a Resuscitation Center of Excellence.
On February 13, 2008, Take Heart Austin hosted a one-day Clinical Symposium on the topic of Post ROSC Therapeutic Hypothermia. Representatives from every hospital in Austin as well as representatives from each Williamson County hospital and Austin/Travis County EMS attended this interactive educational event. The objective of the symposium was to provide current clinical information on therapeutic hypothermia in preparation for implemention of post ROSC cooling by EMS providers. Another key objective of the symposium was the establishment of a process for hospital designations as Resuscitation Centers of Excellence within the City of Austin / Travis County EMS System.
The Symposium was a great success. Today, several currently designated EMS receiving hospitals in Austin and in Williamson County are preparing to seek designation as a Resuscitation Center of Excellence which includes the commitment to continue therapeutic hypothermia initiated by the EMS System. For more information on our Resuscitation Centers of Excellence, please see the related article. Additional information about the Symposium may also be found at the Office fo the Medical Director website, http://atcomd.org/PostResusHypo.htm.
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Take Heart Austin would like to acknowledge the generous Symposium sponsorship of: Take Heart America, Alsius Corporation, Innercool Therapies, Medivance Inc., St. David’s Heart and Vascular Centers and Seton Heart Specialty Care & Transplant Center.
Many 2008 survivors experienced a new era with increased efforts to improve Survival from Sudden Cardiac Arrest in the City of Austin and Travis County. As one of four cities participating in the Take Heart America Sudden Cardiac Arrest Initiative, our Community implemented a number of proven approaches to resuscitation from sudden cardiac arrest. The Take Heart Austin initiative is now the primary sponsor of our Annual Survivor Celebration now known as the Take Heart Austin Survivor Celebration.
Another Milestone. This year more than 60 people survived Sudden Cardiac Arrest. Several new approaches were either implemented or are being considered. Stay tuned for more exciting news in 2008.
Survivor Austin reached a new milestone this year. 54 people survived Sudden Cardiac Arrest in our Communities. Efforts began last year to implement the 2005 American Heart Association Guidelines for CPR and Emergency Cardiovascular Care. We want to increase our number of Survivors even more in the coming years.
In 2005, the City of Austin and the Travis County Communities, celebrated another year with over 45 Survivors from out of hospital Sudden Cardiac Arrest. Our celebration included several Survivors and their Rescuers
2004 marked the second Survivor Austin event formally recognizing our cardiac arrest survivors and their rescuers. Though the number of survivors was much smaller than we would like, we were very happy to see so many of our Survivors and their Rescuers joining together to celebrate. 
