Nearly 30 percent of cardiac arrest patients transported by ambulance to a D.C. hospital in the past five months arrived alive, more than double the percentage only four years ago, city emergency medical services officials say.
Mayor Adrian Fenty on Thursday joined Fire and Emergency Medical Services Chief Dennis Rubin to tout progress in EMS since Rubin took the helm two years ago. Their claims come as the department faces a slate of public relations challenges, including reports of cheating on an emergency medical technician exam, flunked assessments and a heart attack victim who died hours after a paramedic diagnosed him with acid reflux.
“This fire department, this EMS department, is doing a lot more work in the area of training, in the area of recruiting, and the results speak for themselves,” Fenty said during a news conference on 13th Street Northwest outside Engine Co. 16.
The progress, Fenty said, was driven by a task force established under a settlement with the family of New York Times reporter David Rosenbaum. Rosenbaum was robbed and beaten near his Northwest home in early 2006 but misdiagnosed by first responders as a passed-out drunk. He died two days later.
“You’re not going to go to 100 percent overnight,” said Marcus Rosenbaum, David Rosenbaum’s brother. “The question is, how much are they improving? I still have questions. I don’t know.”
Among the improvements: A retrospective study of 120 cardiac arrest patients treated between Dec. 1 and April 30 found 28 percent had their heartbeat restored and at least made it to the hospital alive — up from 12 percent four years ago. Several factors played into the 140 percent increase, including a higher rate of bystander CPR, the proliferation of defibrillators and faster paramedic response, said Dr. James Augustine, the department’s medical director.
EMS customers also appear content with the treatment they’ve received. Roughly 94 percent of EMS customers surveyed this fiscal year said they were satisfied or very satisfied with their responder’s performance, professionalism and knowledge, according to the results, while 4 percent were neutral and 3 percent dissatisfied.
But how accurate is the survey? Rubin said about 300 people every day receive a questionnaire, for a pool of roughly 60,000 since Oct. 1. But the results indicate fewer than 400 have responded — and of those, only 12 were dissatisfied and 14 neutral.
