Updated Guidance: Cardiac Arrest Standard of Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic

After discussions with the NYS BEMS, the protocol that was released and disseminated a few days ago regarding cardiac arrest during COVID-19 was not intended to be released in the manor it was.  After further discussions with the BEMS and the EMS medical directors in the region,  the WREMAC have put forth the following statement.  
 
We anticipate that the NYS guidance entitled, “The COVID-19 Public Health Emergencies EMS Cardiac Arrest Standard of Care,” will be modified by the state shortly.
 
Agencies should notify their providers to delay implementation of this guidance until further notice.
 
This standard was built as a crisis guideline. At the date of this memo, our EMS medical directors of the WREMAC do not feel we meet a community crisis standard. The WREMAC will issue new cardiac arrest guidance in the near future.
 
Providers should continue managing cardiac arrest in accordance with the current NYS Collaborative Protocols and agency practices.
 
We have requested that the WREMAC be granted the ability to activate this protocol in the future, should the need arise.
 
 We apologize for any confusion this has created in the interim.  We will be putting forth additional guidance in the near future.
 
 
 Brian M. Walters, D.O., FACEP, FAAEM

 Please click here to download the WREMAC guidance document. 
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