Tracking, transforming, and training: How a provincial cardiac arrest collaborative works in partnership to improve the Chain of Survival and SCA outcomes.

Summary: Breaking down silos within the Chain of Survival can be challenging. This presentation will provide a real-world example of collaboration, mutual support, and the application of research to improve SCA outcomes in Alberta, Canada.

Synopsis: The Chain of Survival improves outcomes; however, the challenge is optimizing each link in the chain for every SCA event. While some communities have strong individual links, siloed efforts may ultimately weaken the chain.

The goal of the Alberta Collaborative is to provide data-driven systematic change, evidence-based decision making, and real-world experience to create innovative ways to improve the Chain of Survival. The Collaborative is a partnership between the Alberta Health Services EMS Science and Research team, partners like Lethbridge Fire and EMS, frontline paramedics and Emergency Communication Officers, patient and family advisors, not-for-profit organizations, scientists, researchers from across Canada, and other stakeholders representing every link in the Chain of Survival, including Emergency Departments and Intensive Care Units.

The Collaborative utilizes data from a provincial SCA registry to support paramedics in improving their performance and inform recognition through an Excellence in Resuscitation awards program. Further, using provincial SCA data, the team identifies system gaps in care and opportunities for improvement. Purposeful feedback from patients, families, EMS providers, and other stakeholders is used throughout the work to inform interventions that improve SCA outcomes and to strengthen the chain.

Participants will come away with lessons about how to leverage the expertise of all partners and stakeholders, rooting activities in research, measuring and improving all links in the Chain of Survival, and, most of all, eliminating silos and supporting each other to bring the best care and best chance for increasing SCA survival rates.