Parrish Medical Center and American Heart Association partner to bring Resuscitation Quality Improvement (RQI)® to Brevard

TITUSVILLE, FLA. – (Feb. 7, 2020) — Parrish Medical Center (PMC) is pleased to announce a partnership with the American Heart Association and Laerdal Medical® to save more lives following a cardiac arrest with a new CPR simulation training program called Resuscitation Quality Improvement® or RQI®.

“Poor-quality CPR is preventable harm,” said PMC Vice President Communications, Community and Corporate Services Natalie Sellers.

“We’re proud to be the first in Brevard to offer the gold standard in CPR simulation training to our care partners with RQI®, a performance improvement program, which serves to support resuscitation quality and skill mastery in accordance with the gold standard recommended by the American Heart Association every time, ” said Sellers.

PMC’s Clinical Education Specialist Ericka Jacobs added “Recently, I heard a saying that I believe exemplifies RQI and PMC’s commitment to our community; ‘practice doesn’t make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect.’

“We can do CPR every single day, but if we aren’t doing it correctly then we are promoting a cycle of poor performance and even worse patient outcomes. RQI stops this cycle,” said Jacobs.

According to the American Heart Association, every year 475,000 people die from cardiac arrest in the U.S. As recognized patient safety leaders, PMC envisions a world where no one dies from cardiac arrest. The implementation of the RQI simulation CPR training program is an important step toward achieving that goal.

“The more we as healthcare providers can practice these life-saving skills, the more competent and confident we become when a matter of seconds can save a person’s life following cardiac arrest,” said Parrish Medical Center Emergency Department Medical Director Greg Cuculino, MD.

“Parrish Medical Center care partners have the skills, technology, and competence they need to deliver the highest quality care to patients—blending the art of healing with the science of advanced cardiovascular medicine,” added Dr. Cuculino.

To learn more, watch Parrish Medical Center’s RQI video here.