Every second counts when it comes to a cardiac arrest emergency. Spokane Valley Firefighters are taking advantage of every second with a different approach to CPR.
It’s called Pit Crew CPR and requires all hands on deck. Each team member has a roll; one to do compressions, another to ventilate, another to medicate and others to help assist. The person doing the physically demanding work of compressions rotates out every two minutes.
The pit crew approach allows for steadier, consistent compressions – ideally about 100 a minute. Because of this, Spokane Valley crews say more people are surviving. In 2013 and 2014, they say their CPR save rate was at 25%.