Emergency University's WorkSafe™ Program is Saving Lives ... One Response at a Time

Bay Area Company Emergency University Changes How Corporations, Employees View and Respond to Sudden Cardiac Arrest, Supports National SCA Awareness Month

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., October 5, 2015/PRNewswire-iReach/ - Emergency University, a pioneer in emergency medical training and response systems, is dramatically increasing Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) survival rates by changing the way corporations and their employees view, prepare for and respond to SCA events. Emergency University's Worksafe™ Program is scientifically proven to help save lives by preparing employees to respond 100 percent of the time to a victim of an SCA. Emergency University's clients are responding 100 percent of the time and boast a remarkable 75 percent survival rate for witnessed sudden cardiac arrest victims. there is no survival. Emergency University (EU) has endeavored to change this unfortunate scenario by developing training strategies for success.

October 1 Marks the Start of National Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month

SCAs are the leading cause of death for adults ages 40 and over in the United States and in other countries. The key factor to surviving this cardiac malfunction is on-site "response," i.e. immediate CPR and application of an available, well-maintained, automated external defibrillator (AED). However, according to leading resuscitation researchers, SCA victims receive these benefits only two percent of the time before emergency personnel arrive, significantly reducing the chances the person will survive. Additionally, the majority of these responses are by professional emergency personnel who just happen to be nearby. The result of this is a nationwide SCA survival rate of five to 10 percent.

For SCA victims every minute counts. With each minute that passes without CPR or defibrillation, the chances the person will survive drops by 10 percent. Brain death begins within four to six minutes. In stark contrast, average Emergency Services response times are eight to 15 minutes. The key to saving lives is properly preparing and supporting bystanders to become confident and willing responders.

Why is the SCA bystander response rate so low?

The answer lies within our culture. Heather Zuckswert, a paramedic and firefighter for the Los Gatos Fire Department, stated, "In the numerous cardiac arrests I've responded to during my 13 years in the field, if CPR was performed before I arrived, the chances of survival were significantly improved... but these saves are few and far between due to the lack of bystander CPR." She added, "I believe people are scared to be the first ones to act. No one wants to be the one to do something wrong or look like they don’t know what they're doing."

According to Frank J. Poliafico R.N., Emergency University's director of training, "For ordinary people, watching someone collapse and become unconscious is the most daunting emotional moment of their lives, regardless of how many CPR cards they have. In addition to overcoming their fear of being responsible for life or death, they must also overcome several significant cultural hurdles. We live in a culture where we don’t touch each other. When was the last time you undressed someone in public? It violates every cultural norm we've ever learned. To combat these cultural taboos, we must incorporate behavioral science alongside medical science into our programs."

"The WorkSafe Program creates capable and willing responders by giving the employees of participating organizations the real life solutions they need to properly and effectively respond to SCA events," said Dr. Odelia "Odie" Braun, Emergency University's medical director. "Emergency University's CPR/AED teaches more than isolated skill sets. The curriculum is designed for ordinary people and prepares them to address their natural emotional and cultural barriers to respond. We use scenario-driven response drills and train employees to respond as a team."

"Emergency University's training follows well-established principles of behavioral science that include positive reinforcement and personal interaction with other students," said Thomas T. Holloway, Ph.D., manager of employee safety and health services in the air traffic organization of the Federal Aviation Administration in Washington, DC. " Emergency University's program works and it's saving our employees' lives."

Emergency University's Worksafe™ Program includes:

• Blended CPR/AED Training which combines self-paced online modules with instructor-led skills practice and validation sessions.
• Emergency Response Training based on medical research and behavioral science to empower employees with the support, tools, plans, processes and structure they need to respond to SCA victims in real-world situations.
• EUAlert!™ Smartphone Application enables all employees to immediately respond to a SCA incident by finding the trained responders within an organization that can help within the first crucial three to four minutes.
• AED Monitoring and Maintenance, a data-driven quality improvement program used to track equipment, supplies, and employee training certification, along with the AED Ready™ smartphone application to facilitate compliance with national OSHA and state requirements.
• Use of Maestro™ System, Emergency University's proprietary learning management system to help ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.

About Emergency University

Emergency University assists corporations and government agencies in the design and implementation of life-saving internal emergency response systems, including comprehensive preparedness training, SCA response programs and early notification technologies. In 1989, Emergency University staff tripled SCA survival in San Francisco when they launched the first major urban AED program in the US designed specifically for non‐healthcare professionals. In addition to LinkedIn, Emergency University provides emergency response system implementation and training to major corporations including Cisco, Twitter, Levi-Strauss, CSX Transportation, Zynga, Procter & Gamble, and Norfolk Southern. Emergency University also provides CPR/AED training to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as part of its Public Access Defibrillation (PAD) Program -- the largest in the nation. The FAA’s PAD Program has achieved an unprecedented 100% SCA response rate and 75% survival rate for instances of witnessed cardiac arrest. More information about Emergency University is available at 1-866-233-4357 and http://www.emergencyuniversity.com

Media Contact:
c3PR: Mar Junge 408-219-0101
Emergency University: T. Farina - +1-650-365-3310 or tfarina@emergencyuniversity.com

WorkSafe™ is a trademark of Emergency University.