The City of Lincoln is receiving national recognition for it’s cardiac arrest response. Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird and Lincoln Fire and Rescue officials today announced Tuesday that Lincoln has received The Lighthouse Community designation from the Resuscitation Academy, which means that LFR is operating at the highest life-saving level.
Lincoln is one of only 10 locations in the country and is the only city in the Midwest to receive the Lighthouse Community designation. “The Lighthouse designation is the result of our strong investments in public safety, the dedication of our first responders and medical professionals, and the altruism of Lincoln residents, who play a crucial role in the chain of survival through bystander CPR,” Gaylor Baird says.
Fire Chief Dave Engler says the designation would not be possible without the complete chain of survival. “Early detection of cardiac arrest and 911 activation, by-stander CPR, dispatch aided CPR instruction and early intervention by our hospital partners,” Engler says. “Ongoing attention to performance, development of community relationships and continual improvement will result in maintaining one of the best performing EMS systems in the country and the best outcomes for the Lincoln community.”
Overall, the survival rate for cardiac arrests in Lincoln for 2022 is 18.4%, twice the average nationally, according to most recent statistics. This means that 26 people were revived following a sudden cardiac arrest. Statistically, only 13 people should have survived.
Of the 141 non-traumatic cardiac arrest cases in 2022, bystanders performed CPR 70.8 % of the time when LFR arrived compared to the national CPR rate of 40.2%.