Abstract
Background:
Communication during cardiac arrest codes is inherently challenging. We designed a quality improvement project wherein chaplains responded to medical/surgical unit cardiac arrest codes.
Methods:
Chaplains were added to the cardiac arrest alert paging system and responded to these pages. Code alerts and chaplain responses to them were tracked. After four months, chaplains completed a survey to assess their experiences.
Results:
Chaplains attended a total of 42 codes. Chaplains responded to 19 of 24 daytime working-hour codes and followed up on overnight ones, for a total of 42 code responses. They supported patients, family members or visitors, patient roommates, and medical staff. The overwhelming majority (92%) found providing spiritual care during a cardiac arrest code to be meaningful.
Discussion:
Chaplains’ presence during and after cardiac arrest codes was feasible and perceived as a useful intervention. Adding chaplains to the cardiac arrest code pager allows them to provide support to patients, their families, and staff members during these critical moments.
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