During a recent national symposium, our Division Chief of Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Rich Llewellyn was a featured speaker on the topic of SVFD’s “Integrated Medical Services” program. He spoke about the integrated strategies we’ve launched here in SVFD and introduced to other Spokane County first responders to improve cardiac arrest survival rates.

Chief Llewellyn focused on cardiac arrest survival rates here in the greater Spokane Valley from 2011-2017. In 2011, our cardiac arrest survival rate was 23%. In 2017, our cardiac survival rate improved to 50%. This drastic improvement is the result of our integrated approach which leverages data analysis, citizen CPR, high school CPR, efficiencies in the way SVFD firefighters perform CPR (called “Pit Crew CPR”) and the introduction of “PulsePoint” a free app which enlists citizens trained in CPR to respond to a cardiac arrest if close by.

This success exemplifies our overall Community Risk Reduction Initiative. On a daily basis, SVFD staff members are studying and analyzing data from the different divisions and emergency responses in an effort to craft improvements like those above to lead to better outcomes. Efforts like this are the future direction for Fire and Emergency Response agencies, and as time goes by we will likely see similar results, not only with emergency medical services (EMS), but also the prevention of fires and other preventable risks.

As SVFD implements various initiatives in the coming months and years, and we measure the outcomes, I will be sure to share them with you as I am confident that we will see similar remarkable improvements that lead to reduced risk and a safer, and healthier community.

I look forward to sharing more with you as the year progresses. Thank you for your continued support!

~ Bryan Collins, Fire Chief