31 When cardiac arrest occurs outside a hospital, how quickly a 911 dispatcher recognizes it, initiates CPR instructions, and keeps a bystander compressing without interruption can mean the difference between survival and tragedy. Nationally, OHCA survival rates vary significantly across communities, a gap that reflects, in large part, the quality of dispatcher training and local quality improvement systems targeting Telecommunicator CPR (T-CPR) and High-Performance CPR. CPR LifeLinks was developed to address this variability, grounded in the recommendations of the 2015 Institute of Medicine report Strategies to Improve Cardiac Arrest Survival: A Time to Act. Funded through the CDC CARES Expansion and Modernization Grant, CPR LifeLinks gives 911 agencies a free package of T-CPR training, quality improvement support, and continuing education organized around the Three Stages of T-CPR: swift cardiac arrest recognition, delivery of CPR instructions, and continuous coaching to the bystander performing compressions. The Resuscitation Academy Foundation runs implementation, targeting communities with the greatest need while keeping resources available to all agencies, including through regional collaborations that extend reach to dispatch centers that may not independently qualify under grant criteria. Since the program was launched, dispatchers across multiple states have been trained. In year two alone, more than 180 received training. Working alongside CARES PRIME, CPR LifeLinks supported dispatch centers serving seven priority communities in California, encouraging uptake of the CARES Dispatcher Assisted CPR Module (DA-CPR) into local quality improvement workflows. At one participating agency, that support held through a full facility relocation; a training supervisor noted: “We appreciate all you do and know your work is important.” CPR LifeLinks also delivered T-CPR training directly to one of Maryland’s largest 911 centers. The American Red Cross relationship, built on shared training resources and T-CPR scenario materials, is now working on future collaboration opportunities. Active outreach continues across eleven states: California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington. Ongoing conversations with state and regional partners reflect growing interest in both the DA-CPR module and the CPR LifeLinks framework. The Resuscitation Academy High- Performance T-CPR Train-the-Trainer initiative, which lists CPR LifeLinks as a recommended program, continues as a forum for joint outreach. Midway through this five- year federal investment, CPR LifeLinks, the Resuscitation Academy, and CARES PRIME are building the infrastructure to outlast the grant funding period. CPR LifeLinks
View this content as a flipbook by clicking here.