Background
Time-sensitive emergency conditions, including trauma, out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), myocardial infarction, stroke, and brain injury, are collectively among the leading causes of death in the United States.
The care provided during the first minutes and hours after critical illness and injury often determines survival. Successful treatment of these conditions requires rapid recognition followed by sustained resuscitative efforts until definitive therapy can be achieved. This often requires integrated teams and systems of care that span both geography and medical specialties.
Locally, Seattle and King County are both leaders in resuscitation of critical illness and injury, boasting the highest rate of neurologically intact survival from out of hospital cardiac arrest, a leading regional Level-I Trauma and Burn Center (Harborview Medical Center), and an advanced quaternary care center offering advanced circulatory life support (University of Washington Medical Center). These achievements are due to local excellence in prehospital medicine from Seattle and King County Medic One, aeromedical critical care transport provided by Airlift Northwest, and robust investigation led by faculty of the UW School of Medicine.
However, the same accomplishments have been difficult to reproduce outside of Seattle and King county where resources and capabilities are not as accessible. This leaves most Americans and global citizens without access to the newest life-saving technology and treatments.
The RESCU Center is our solution to this problem.