Improving the Safety and Effectiveness of Prehospital Airway Management - Lessons, challenges, and insights from the Airway Improvement Collaborative

Sep 23, 2026

Improving the Safety and Effectiveness of Prehospital Airway Management documents an EMS quality improvement effort focused on safer, more effective airway care for 911 patients. It presents the collaborative approach, the case for improving airway management, and methodology using statistical process control. The work highlights measurable targets across adult airway and respiratory outcomes, detailing training and education, medical direction, patient preparation, reduction of cognitive load, and data-system improvements using templates and cognitive aids. Multiple case studies and appendices support implementation lessons, barriers, and results.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages66

Reading Time2 h 46 min

AccessFree to download

Preface

Executive Summary: The Airway Improvement “Cheat Sheet”

EMS Quality Improvement Partnership and the Airway Improvement Collaborative

The Case for Improving Airway Management in EMS

Airway Collaborative Methodology

Common Elements Across All Airway Measures

Airway-01—First-Pass Success Without Hypoxia/Hypotension

Airway-18—Continuous Waveform Capnography

Respiratory-02—Oxygen Administration for Hypoxic Patients

Case Studies

Appendix A – Airway Collaborative Faculty

Appendix B – Participating Agencies

Special Recognition

References and Resources

Improving the Safety and Effectiveness of Prehospital Airway Management Lessons, challenges, and insights from the Airway Improvement Collaborative Table of Contents Table of Contents .................................................................... i-ii Preface: ............................................................................ iii Executive Summary: The Airway Improvement “Cheat Sheet” ............................ v-ix EMS Quality Improvement Partnership and the Airway Improvement Collaborative ........... 1 The Case for Improving Airway Management in EMS ..................................... 2 Airway Collaborative Methodology ..................................................... 3 Statistical Process Control Charts for Adult Airway-01 Data: .......................... 4-5 Statistical Process Control Charts for Adult Respiratory-02 Data: ........................ 6 Statistical Process Control Charts for Adult Airway-18 Data: ......................... 7-10 Common Elements Across All Airway Measures ......................................... 11 Airway-01—First-Pass Success Without Hypoxia/Hypotension ........................ 12-23 Key Learnings ................................................................... 12 Training & Education .......................................................... 12-13 Medical Direction ............................................................. 14-15 Preparing the Patient .......................................................... 16-17 Reducing Cognitive Load ...................................................... 18-21 Improving Data Systems ....................................................... 22-23 Reusable Templates and Cognitive Aids ............................................. 23 Airway-18—Continuous Waveform Capnography ................................... 24-30 Training & Education ............................................................. 24 Medical Direction ............................................................. 24-25 Preparing the Patient ............................................................. 26 Reducing Cognitive Load ...................................................... 26-27 Improving Data Systems ....................................................... 28-29 Cognitive Aids and Workflow Examples ............................................. 30 Respiratory-02—Oxygen Administration for Hypoxic Patients ......................... 31-35 Training & Education ............................................................. 31 Medical Direction ................................................................ 32 Preparing the Patient ............................................................. 32 Reducing Cognitive Load ......................................................... 33 Improving Data Systems ....................................................... 34-35 Cognitive Aids and Workflow Examples ............................................. 35 CASE STUDY: Med-Act Johnson County ............................................ 36-37 CASE STUDY: Monroe Livingston .................................................. 38-40 CASE STUDY: Clark County ....................................................... 41-44 CASE STUDY: Fort Worth Office of the Medical Director .............................. 45-46 Appendix A – Airway Collaborative Faculty .......................................... 47-48 Appendix B – Participating Agencies ................................................ 49-50 Special Recognition .................................................................. 51 Partners ............................................................................ 51 References and Resources ......................................................... 52-53 Preface: Anyone who has choked on food, experienced an asthma attack, or treated a cardiac arrest patien

FAQs

What is the main goal of the Airway Improvement Collaborative?

To improve the safety and effectiveness of prehospital airway care for 911 patients by strengthening systems, training, decision-making, equipment use, documentation, and teamwork through quality improvement.

How does the document evaluate improvement across airway and respiratory measures?

It uses airway collaborative methodology and statistical process control charts for adult airway and respiratory data to track performance and improvement over time.

What practical strategies does the document emphasize for improving outcomes?

It focuses on training and education, medical direction, preparing the patient, reducing cognitive load, and improving data systems using reusable templates and cognitive aids.

Sep 23, 2026

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