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Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital: Rapid Response Means Rapid Intervention

Posted on: Tuesday, 27 September 2005, 12:00 CDT

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill., Sept. 27 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Time is critical when responding to a medical emergency. At Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital, a Rapid Response Team has been established to further deter medical emergency "code blue" situations. It is like preventing the fire as opposed to putting out the fire.

A Rapid Response Team is activated when a staff member identifies acute changes in heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory status, oxygen saturation or mental status in a patient. The team consists of an advanced practice nurse, respiratory therapist, critical care nurse, bedside nurse and the attending physician. Any staff member can initiate the Rapid Response Team page on medical, surgical or telemetry units.

Since patients often have symptoms four to eight hours before an arrest, a "code blue" protocol, though effective, happens when a patient is on the brink of death. According to a study printed in Critical Care Medicine (1994), as many as 66 percent of patients had signs of instability for up to eight hours prior to the event.

The Massachusetts-based Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) is advocating a campaign for hospitals to save "100,000 Lives" by June 14, 2006. Initiating a Rapid Response Team in as many hospitals as will participate, will likely move IHI towards the goal. Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital implemented a Rapid Response Team (RRT) on Aug. 1.

Since August, there have been 24 calls for RRT. It took the team an average of 3.6 minutes to respond, and each call lasted an average of 22.5 minutes. Seven of the patients were transferred to the critical care unit as a result of the calls.

By the middle of October, all eight acute care Advocate Hospitals will have a Rapid Response Team in place.

Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital is the only level I trauma center in DuPage County and they are proud to support Access DuPage. Their 342-bed facility also operates a nationally recognized Level III Perinatal Center and is noted for its cardiac and cancer care, women and children's services and surgical services. It is a member of Advocate Health Care, based out of Oak Brook, Ill. -- the largest fully integrated health care delivery system in metropolitan Chicago. Advocate is recognized as one of the top 10 health systems in the country, treating more than a million Chicago-area residents each year.

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EDITOR'S NOTE: Peggy Norton-Rosko, manager of Critical Care Services and other Rapid Response Team members are available for interviewing and photos.

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References:

Durkin, S. (2005). Early intervention. Advance for Nurses, 33- 34.

Franklin, C., & Mathew, J. (1994). Developing strategies to prevent in hospital cardiac arrest: Analyzing responses of physicians and nurses in the hours before the event. Critical Care Medicine, 22(2), 244-247.

http://www.usnewswire.com

Source: U.S. Newswire

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