Southern Virginia Regional Medical Center Designated as Satellite for VCU’s Arctic Program
EMPORIA, VA (May 17, 2011) – The Emergency Department staff of Southern Virginia Regional Medical Center (SVRMC) recently spent time training with representatives from Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center’s (VCU) ARCTIC Program (Advanced Resuscitation Cooling Therapeutics Intensive Care). ARCTIC, the most comprehensive program of its kind in the United States, has two main goals: to restart the heart as quickly as possible following a cardiac arrest and to protect the brain by intentionally lowering the patient’s body temperature to reduce the risk of tissue damage caused by insufficient blood flow, also know as therapeutic hypothermia. During the training, participants were provided with criteria for identifying patients for inclusion in this process, instructed on supplies and equipment necessary to carry out treatment, and educated on the actual process and treatment plan. Having successfully completed the training, SVRMC is now a designated satellite center for ARCTIC, and an important local link in the cutting edge treatment of cardiac arrest patients.
The use of therapeutic hypothermia as a medical treatment dates back to antiquity in various rudimentary forms. The ARCTIC team at VCU conducted a multi-year study using the intentional cooling technique with dramatic improvement in the resuscitation and survival rates of cardiac arrest patients. Patients treated using the ARCTIC protocol in 2008 experienced a 46% return of spontaneous circulation as compared with only a 25% rate in 2001 when only conventional means were used. Likewise, the survival rate to hospital discharge increased from 9.7% in 2003 to 17.9% in 2008; a full 10% better than the national average of 7%.
The Emergency Department of SVRMC is proud to partner with VCU in the ground-breaking ARCTIC program. For more information on services provided at SVRMC, contact Sandy Webb, Director of Marketing and Public Relations or go to our website at www.svrmc.com.
Front Row L - R: Chris Critzer, RN, ED Clinical Coordinator, Michelle Gossip, RN, ARCTIC Program Coordinator, Robin Duncan, RN, Rita Franze, RN, Laura Hatch, RN, Leavelle Tillar, RN, Jennifer Watson, RN, Devon Clary, LifeEvac Virginia,
Back Row L - R: Iqbal Singh, MD, ED Medical Director, Elaine Clary, RN, Lauren Barnes, RN, Kelly Vargo, RN, Sarah Wright, ED Secretary, Kandy Poarch, RN, ED Nurse Manager, Carmen Flaherty, RN, Barbara Finch, LPN, and Linda Burnette, CNO
Not Pictured: Paula Anderson, RN, Lynette Jones, RN, Penny Powell, LPN, Wilma Taylor, LPN, Kim Blake, RN, Mary Beth Vincent, RN, Amanda Wright, RN, Barbara Jordan, RN, Julie Kidd, RN, Quinlan Morgan, RN