Mar 1, 2004
A recent article in USA Today reported that the National Academies of Emergency Dispatch (NAED), a non-profit standard-setting organization promoting safe and effective emergency dispatch services to nearly 3,000 communities world-wide, has recommended new instructions for 911 call takers.1
If advising callers responding to possible sudden cardiac arrest, NAED recommends call takers give instructions to perform continuous chest compressions without rescue breathing.
At least 38 cities will make the change, including New York, Atlanta, Chicago, and Los Angeles. The recommendation calls for the change in call taker instructions effective in mid-March of this year.
In response, MEDIC FIRST AID has issued a position statement indicating support for the updated procedure while stating why it does not have an immediate impact on the delivery of MEDIC FIRST AID Training Programs.
Read the MEDIC FIRST AID position statement on compressions-only CPR.
1Robert Davis, “911 Dispatchers Revise Cardiac-Arrest Rules,” USA Today, February 29, 2004, http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2004-02-29-911-rules-usat_x.htm.
