CHULA VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) - If a person suffers cardiac arrest inside a hospital, their chances of surviving are lower than you may think.
According to the American Heart Association (AHA), the survival rate for adults is just 23%. The nonprofit attributes this low number to poor-quality CPR.
"So we need to do better in order to improve that number, our patients deserve better, our staff deserves better," said Sarah Saunders-Harbaugh, a clinical lead at Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center.
Saunders-Harbaugh is leading the hospital's effort to adopt the new AHA training method: RQI 2020, which stands for Resuscitation Quality Improvement.
The simulation-based training provides verbal feedback in real-time while staff members do compressions and ventilations.
Previously staff was only required to get re-certified every two years. With RQI 2020 staff will train every three months, but only for about 15 minutes each time.
"So 'we're constantly building muscle memory, and we have the opportunity to get better while we're using this equipment and then we have the opportunity to save more lives in the hospital," said Saunders-Harbaugh.
A Texas hospital using this training method increased its survival rate by 21%, doubling the previous rate.
Sharp Chula Vista is the first hospital in the county to implement RQI 2020, and the AHA hopes to have it in every hospital by 2025.
