Cardiac Arrest Resuscitation System - Version 3.0 - Optimal Cardiac Arrest System Specification By Point Of Care Operations Manual

Sep 23, 2026

Uploaded by kopisore

Cardiac Arrest Resuscitation System operations manual for the RACE CARS phase focuses on out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and coordinated cardiovascular emergency response across community, pre-hospital, and hospital settings. It outlines objectives to improve survival through dispatcher-assisted CPR, compression-only education, AED use, high-quality team-based resuscitation, and post-cardiac arrest intensive care including hypothermia protocols. The manual also describes data-driven performance assessment using NCOEMS records and CARES reporting elements such as CPR, AED application, outcomes, and neurologic status.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages48

Reading Time2 h 1 min

AccessFree to download

Contents

Community EMS: Dispatch

EMS: First Responder

EMS: Initial Contact

EMT: Basic, Intermediate, or Paramedic

EMS: Interfacility Transfer

EMT: Basic, Intermediate, or Paramedic Hospital

Cardiac Arrest Center Law Enforcement

Government: Local (including EMS providers)

Government: State and Federal

Pre-Hospital

Emergency Response Plan Characteristics of High Quality CPR Pit Crew Resuscitation

Team Approach

EMS Protocols

Team focused CPR VF pulseless VT

Adult Asystole/Pulseless Electrical Activity Cardiac Arrest; Adult

Post Resuscitation

Induced Hypothermia (Optional)

Chest Pain and STEMI

Hospital

Cardiac Arrest Center

Resuscitation Capable Hospital

CARES Post Cardiac Arrest Hypothermia Order Set

CARES Post-Cardiac Arrest Hypothermia Initiation Orders for Transferring Hospitals

Post-Cardiac Arrest Protocol

Resuscitation Capable Hospital Pre-Transfer Guidelines

Community

Community Training

Compression Only- “Hands Only” CPR

The 3 “C’s” of seeing when you should call 911 Cardiovascular Emergencies: Myocardial Infarction

Cardiovascular Emergencies: Stroke

Cardiovascular Emergencies: Cardiac Arrest

CARES Data Form

INTCAR Data Registry

Glossary of Terms

Cardiac Arrest Resuscitation System Optimal Cardiac Arrest System Specification By Point Of Care Operations Manual Version 3.0 © RACE 2013 [heartrescueproject.com](heartrescueproject.com) [heartrescuenow.com](heartrescuenow.com)[ ](heartrescuenow.com)[https://cee.dcri.duke.edu/race-cars-1](https://cee.dcri.duke.edu/race-cars-1) Contents | Optimal System Specification by Point of Care
Community EMS: Dispatch
EMS: First Responder
EMS: Initial Contact
EMT: Basic, Intermediate, or Paramedic
EMS: Interfacility Transfer
EMT: Basic, Intermediate, or Paramedic Hospital
Cardiac Arrest Center Law Enforcement
Government: Local (including EMS providers)
Government: State and Federal
Pre-Hospital
Emergency Response Plan Characteristics of High Quality CPR Pit Crew Resuscitation
Team Approach
EMS Protocols
Team focused CPR VF pulseless VT
Adult Asystole/Pulseless Electrical Activity Cardiac Arrest; Adult
Post Resuscitation
Induced Hypothermia (Optional) Chest Pain and STEMI
Hospital
Cardiac Arrest Center
Resuscitation Capable Hospital
CARES Post Cardiac Arrest Hypothermia Order Set
CARES Post-Cardiac Arrest Hypothermia Initiation Orders for Transferring Hospitals
Post-Cardiac Arrest Protocol
Resuscitation Capable Hospital Pre-Transfer Guidelines
Community
Community Training
Compression Only- “Hands Only” CPR
The 3 “C’s” of seeing when you should call 911 Cardiovascular Emergencies: Myocardial Infarction
Cardiovascular Emergencies: Stroke
Cardiovascular Emergencies: Cardiac Arrest
CARES Data Form INTCAR Data Registry Glossary of Terms | Pages 2–6
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Page 40 | | --- | --- | Introduction The Regional Approach to Cardiovascular Emergencies (RACE) project is a North Carolina statewide system for providing rapid coordinated care of cardiovascular emergencies. Established in 2003, the RACE system incorporates quality improvement efforts of over 119 hospitals, 540 emergency medical agencies and thousands of health care providers working in a coordinated manner to provide timely and lifesaving care. Initially, the RACE system was developed to treat acute myocardial infarction. With an eventual goal to rapidly coordinate the treatment of all cardiovascular emergencies, our current phase called RACE CARS (Cardiac Arrest Resuscitation System) is focusing on out of hospital cardiac arrest. As the third leading cause of death, cardiac arrest claims 300,000 Americans lives each year. If witnessed, recognized and treated with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), external defibrillation, and hospital post-arrest care, almost half of victims can survive and return to functional lives. Unfortunately, we currently fall well short of this goal in North Carolina, with only 1 in 5 victims receiving bystander CPR, and only 1 in 20 surviving to hospital discharge. Supported by the Medtronic Foundation HeartRescue Project, and hospitals and emergency medical systems throughout the state, we hope to double survival from cardiac arrest within 5 years. Our approach includes three components 1) community response – mass education in compression only CPR and automatic external defibrillator (AED) use; 2) pre-hospital response – rapid dispatch of first responders and defibrillators; dispatcher assisted CPR to increase by-stander CPR rates; high quality CPR and team based resuscitation. 3) hospital response – coordinated post-cardiac arrest intensive care including hypothermia protocols. The key elements of our system include regional org

FAQs

What does the RACE CARS approach focus on?

The operations manual states that the current RACE CARS phase focuses on out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, coordinating care across community, pre-hospital, and hospital responses.

Which community and pre-hospital measures are included?

Community response includes mass education in compression-only CPR and AED use, while pre-hospital response includes rapid dispatch of first responders and defibrillators plus dispatcher-assisted CPR and high-quality team-based resuscitation.

How is performance and impact measured?

Progress is assessed using North Carolina Office of Emergency Medical Services (NCOEMS) records, with CARES reporting data elements covering details of the arrest episode, CPR and AED use, outcomes, hospital destination, hypothermia application, and neurologic outcome.

Sep 23, 2026

Uploaded by kopisore