​GBMC Honored for Commitment to Improving Cardiac Arrest Survival

Greater Baltimore Medical Center (GBMC) recently earned the official title as a Resuscitation Quality Improvement (RQI) Lighthouse Organization for their adoption and consistent use of an innovative cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training program.

GBMC is the first hospital in Maryland to receive this designation and to use the RQI system to train nurses and other clinical providers in CPR. The hospital implemented the system, the gold standard program that was developed through a unique collaboration between the American Heart Association and Laerdal Medical, back in 2016 and now joins an exclusive group of hospitals from around the country that demonstrate resuscitation best practices using the RQI program.

“This acknowledgement is proof of the commitment and the hard work of all of our clinical teams,” said David Vitberg, MD, Director of our Medical and Surgical ICU, who advocated for the adoption of RQI at GBMC. “Our clinicians are skilled in the latest practices in resuscitation, helping our patients have a greater chance of survival and recovery from cardiac arrest.”

During the training, the system provides live feedback, while the learner practices CPR skills with a manikin every three months. These techniques came in handy a couple of years ago when a GBMC staff member used his skills outside of a patient unit to save someone’s life.

“It is not uncommon for our clinicians to implement CPR on a patient, but it is not often that clinicians use these skills beyond our patient care units. Our colleague’s quick actions and in using their clinical training to provide life-saving emergency treatment clearly shows the value of the RQI system,” said Carolyn L. Candiello, MA, CPHRM, GBMC HealthCare’s Vice President, Quality and Patient Safety.

For people who are having a life threatening cardiac arrythmia, time is of the essence and being well-trained in advance leads to better outcomes for the patients. 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, research has shown that CPR skills can decay within three to six months following this standard training schedule.

“We are honored to be at the leading edge in CPR certification while bringing the most up-to-date CPR training to our providers and staff,” said Deborah Higgins, MS, RN, CHSE, GBMC’s Simulation Manager and American Heart Association (AHA) Training Center Coordinator. “Being recognized for our commitment to making high-quality CPR a priority organization-wide and furthering our mission to improve patient care and help save more lives is truly gratifying.”

“We are thrilled to welcome Greater Baltimore Medical Center (GBMC) as part of RQI Lighthouse Class of 2020,” Betsy Malin, RQI Partners’ impact manager, stated. “The GBMC team has done an exemplary job of implementing the program. GBMC is committed to adopting best practices and continually improving resuscitation quality that promotes positive patient outcomes. Working together allows hospital administrators and clinical staff to create a complete vision for resuscitation excellence and adherence to evidence-based standards of care.”

For more on GBMC — A Lighthouse Whose Passion Is Resuscitation click here.

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Related Sites:
RQI Partners, LLC
http://www.rqipartners.com/

American Heart Association
http://www.heart.org

Laerdal Medical
https://laerdal.com/us/