Vail, CO, April 30th, 2018, 1:00pm. Central Mountains Regional Emergency Medical and Trauma Advisory Council (CMRETAC), a regional agency authorized by statute to provide a coordinated approach to emergency medical and trauma care, and Starting Hearts, a Colorado-based nonprofit dedicated to saving the lives of sudden cardiac arrest victims, have entered into a strategic alliance agreement to improve cardiac arrest outcomes in six Colorado counties including Chaffee, Eagle, Lake, Park, Pitkin and Summit Counties.
The partners will establish a collaborative relationship to best utilize their respective resources to manage a comprehensive program to support or provide: certification education of professional responders, including paramedics, police officers, fire fighters, and sheriff personnel; train citizen first responders in lifesaving CPR and defibrillation skills; and develop a body of data on outcomes of sudden cardiac arrest events to enhance infrastructure, systems, and procedures to raise survival rates in the CMRETAC region.
“This partnership will allow the CMRETAC to get more responders and citizens trained in every community we serve and fulfills part of our strategic plan for education throughout the region,” according to Executive Director Anne Montera. “The CMRETAC board and staff strive to create partnerships, like with Starting Hearts, that are valuable and stretch our regional funds.”
“We are so grateful to CMRETAC for the support and close cooperation with us in making our home and the six-county region one of the safest in the nation to suffer a cardiac arrest and not only survive, but thrive,” stated Lynn Blake, founder of Starting Hearts and a sudden cardiac arrest survivor. “Our initial focus will be to offer the Starting Hearts lifesaving and leadership CPR/DEFIB curriculum, Call.Push.Shock.TM throughout the region. With over 15,000 taught in Eagle County, we will endeavor to train thousands more Neighbor SaversTM across the six counties to provide early care when needed to save precious lives.”
