A centralized system for providing dispatcher assisted CPR instructions to 9-1-1 callers at multiple municipal public safety answering points

Background: Dispatcher CPR instruction increases the odds of survival. However, many communities do not provide this lifesaving intervention, often citing the barriers of limited personnel, funding, and liability.

Objective: Describe the implementation of a novel centralized dispatcher CPR instruction program that serves seven public safety answering points (PSAPs).

Methods: Seven municipal PSAPs that did not previously provide dispatcher instructions implemented our program. Using a 30-min self-directed video, 84 PSAP dispatchers were trained to utilize a two-question protocol to identify and transfer suspected out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) cases to a central communication center. At this central communication center, a trained communicator delivered CPR instructions to the caller. The 26 central communicators were trained with a 2-h in-person didactic session followed by a 2-h practice session. We collected and analyzed data from recordings of communicator-to-caller interactions.

Results: 169 calls were transferred to the central communication center. Of those, 106 needed CPR instructions and 56 of those callers performed chest compressions (53%). The county-wide EMS documented bystander CPR rate was 20% the prior year. The 63 remaining transferred calls were non-OHCA calls. Of the calls where CPR was needed and performed, 11 victims survived to hospital discharge (20%); the countywide survival rate was 12%.

Conclusions: Using a central communication center for instructions allowed us to train and maintain a smaller group of communicators, leading to less cost and more experience for those communicators, while limiting the burden on PSAP dispatchers.