The Board of Commissioners commended the Henderson County EMS for the lives they’ve been saving with the cardiac arrest resuscitation procedure that was adopted in late 2012.
Using 2010 statistics for cardiac arrest (because they are similar), Rocky Hyder, Director of Emergency Services explained that:
– In 2013, 39.8% of patients with witnessed cardiac arrest had a return of pulse after treatment versus 13% in 2010, and
– In 2013, 6.5% of those same patients were discharged from the hospital with good neurological function versus 2.6% in 2010
That means that last year, six people walked out of the hospital with the ability to live a normal life after suffering a sudden cardiac arrest in which their heart stopped beating. Over 40 people had their heartbeat return, some of which were able to say or do something that might have been left undone otherwise.
The Henderson County EMS System (EMS, Rescue Squad and Fire Department) adopted the NC RACE CARS HeartRescue Project guidelines to improve cardiac arrest survivability. They joined the Cardiac Arrest to Enhance Survival (CARES) Registry to enable the EMS System to track performance and compare to other EMS systems nationwide. Other partners include the American Heart Association and the Community Foundation of Henderson County who sponsored the “CPR Anytime” program for training the public in “Hands Only CPR”. The next CPR event will be held on Main Street during the 2014 Apple Festival.
Congratulations Henderson County EMS System!!