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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 1, 2012
Media Contact:
Amy Cornell, Health Information Officer
Santa Clara County Public Health Department
Office: (408) 792-5155
Amy.Cornell@phd.sccgov.org
SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA. Paramedics in Santa Clara County will soon be using a potentially life-saving new treatment protocol that will help people who have suffered heart attacks by reducing damage to patients’ brains. The new protocol, effective February 2, 2012, will use therapeutic cooling, which is a way of cooling the body from the inside out to help protect brain cells from dying. Brain cell death can cause serious neurologic injury, or even death.
“Clinically induced hypothermia can improve the neurologic outcome of unconscious patients following sudden cardiac arrest,” said Dr. Eric Rudnick, MD, Santa Clara County Emergency Medical Services System Medical Director. “Normal body temperature is 98.6, and this treatment cools the body to 90 to 93 degrees to stop cell death.” The process helps prevent such damage, and it helps the patient's brain heal and recover from the lack of oxygen.
Paramedics have been receiving County-mandated training in the new protocol since September. “This new treatment, and others that are being implemented in Santa Clara County, will simply save lives and allow our paramedics to provide better patient care,” said Michael Petrie, Director of the Santa Clara County EMS System.
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About Us
- Santa Clara County EMS Agency
- Santa Clara County, California, United States
- The Santa Clara County EMS Agency is charged with the oversight and regulation of the delivery of emergency medical services within the County. The EMS Agency is responsible for developing and coordinating an integrated emergency medical care delivery system, which is composed of education agencies, hospitals and specialty care facilities. Responsibilities include system planning, training program approval, provider and hospital designation, the establishment of appropriate medical, operations, and quality standards, monitoring and facilitating compliance, and the certification, authorization, and accreditation of personnel. The EMS Agency is also responsible for disaster medical-health planning and response. This includes multiple patient management, emergency public health operations, and medical-health mutual aid coordination.