DAYTON — Premier Health hospitals have implemented a new program to enable staff to maintain high-level cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skills through more frequent high quality training.

The American Heart Association’s Resuscitation Quality Improvement Program (RQI) emphasizes quarterly training with real-time feedback to ensure resuscitation skills remain high. The system is intended to improve basic life support and advanced cardiovascular life support skills, according to the heart association.

Traditional CPR training programs are based on evaluation every two years, often in a classroom setting.

RQI combines online testing of the cognitive elements and hands-on testing of individual psychomotor skills by performing CPR at simulation stations using adult and infant simulator mannequins.

The health care professional performs chest compressions and ventilations on the mannequins, which are connected to a computer and a learning management system. The computer determines, both by voice and picture, if the procedures were done at correct speed, depth and release, in addition to calculating correct hand placement, pauses in care and ventilation techniques.