Dispatcher-Directed CPR - 20,000 Trained Press Release

MEDIA CONTACT
Matthew Miko
(801) 245-0579
matthew.miko@emergencydispatch.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 12, 2024, Salt Lake City – For decades, Emergency Medical Dispatchers completed standard CPR training every two years to maintain their certification. However, this changed in April 2022 when the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch® (IAED™) launched a first-of-its-kind, Dispatcher-Directed CPR (DD-CPR) course, specifically designed for the non-visual, high stakes environment of emergency dispatch.

Setting a new standard in online training, this course features a range of practice scenarios in a fully simulated ProQA® environment, ensuring that Emergency Dispatchers gain not just the knowledge, but also the experience of using IAED PreArrival Instructions correctly in these critical events.

Today, less than two years later, the IAED is proud to announce that the DD-CPR course has been successfully completed by over 20,000 certified Emergency Medical Dispatchers.

“Today marks a red-letter day for the IAED in leading the charge for Emergency Dispatchers to follow a single, unified standard when handling calls involving sudden cardiac arrest while providing best-in-class online training to make this happen,” said Jeff Clawson, M.D, Chair of the Rules Group of the IAED Medical Council of Standards and Medical Director of the Research, Standards, and Academics Division.

“When we launched this course, we saw the need to use the latest technology for Emergency Dispatchers with simulations that build on their knowledge while also reinforcing how to identify and handle these types of situations when seconds count,” said Jerry Overton, IAED President.

According to the CDC, every year in the United States more than 356,000 people experience an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) and 60% to 80% die without reaching the hospital. This only underscores the importance of Emergency Dispatchers being prepared to handle OHCA calls.

“Emergency Dispatchers operate in the non-visual realm,” Overton added. “The ongoing training and practice provided through our DD-CPR course is critical to ensuring readiness to deliver life-saving CPR directions at any time, day or night.”

Dr. Clawson has often stated, "Remember in cardiac arrest, Emergency Dispatchers are truly the ‘first,’ first responders with an unbeatable ‘zero-minute’ response time. These now more precisely trained professionals are there the second the phone stops ringing— they’re just there by remote control."

The DD-CPR course can be completed in less than two hours and is available at no cost to certified members of the IAED and now satisfies the biyearly recertification requirement in a much more useful and meaningful way.

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The International Academies of Emergency Dispatch is the standard-setting organization for medical, fire, police, and nurse triage emergency dispatch and response services worldwide and is the leading body of emergency services dispatch experts. Our various Boards and Councils work on behalf of over 69,000 members in 59 countries—and in coordination with other influential public safety organizations—to ensure that the

comprehensive system covering all aspects of emergency dispatching is safe, fast, effective, and cutting-edge. IAED protocols are used in more than 4,142 communication centers across the world and have been time-tested across hundreds of millions of calls for medical, fire, police, and nurse triage dispatching. emergencydispatch.org