New form of CPR increases survival rate in the desert

There’s a new kind of CPR saving lives in the desert. It’s called “Pit Crew CPR,” and it employs the same technique used by NASCAR pit crews. The old way of CPR only had a 10 to 12 percent success rate for CAL Fire paramedics. The new Pit Crew method increased the success rate to 46 percent.

“When we talk about Pit Crew CPR, what that means is that we’ve predesignated everybody to have a specific job, no different than it would be in a pit crew in, say, a race car,” said Battalion Chief Rick Griggs.

When crews start their day, they check a diagram that tells them their roles.

“People that are doing compressions. Assigned people that are setting up the drugs and medication. Assign somebody to maintain the airway, ventilate the patient to establish the airway, to give the drugs,” Griggs said.

The biggest difference from the old way of doing CPR, is that more than one person does compressions.

“While doing compressions on somebody, one of two things happens – they become fatigued and the compressions become sloppy and ineffective, or because they’re repetitive they can become bored,” said Griggs.

With Pit Crew CPR, transitions between rescuers are seamless, with each person only compressing for two minutes. With the help of a monitor defibrillator, crews can monitor the effectiveness of their compressions and if they need to put in more or less effort. Rick Griggs said the public plays a big role.

“You’re really what’s buying people time until we can get there the public that layperson CPR is what buys us the time to save someone’s life,” Griggs said.

That is why it’s essential to perform CPR while you’re waiting for the paramedics to arrive. If you’re performing CPR rescuers suggest doing compressions to the beat of the song “Stayin’ Alive”.
They said it’s the perfect rhythm that will give you about 100 to 120 compressions a minute until paramedics come and take over.