New Rules For Nassau EMTs: Don't Bring Cardiac Arrests To ER

NASSAU COUNTY, NY — As the new coronavirus continues to put an enormous strain on Long Island hospitals, the Nassau Regional Emergency Medical Advisory Committee has issued new guidelines that may come as a surprise to some residents. According to the new guidelines, patients who cannot be revived in the field after going into cardiac arrest will no longer be rushed to the emergency room.

"No adult medical cardiac arrest is to be moved to a hospital with manual or mechanical compressions in progress without either return ofof spontaneous circulation or a direct order from a medical control physician unless there is imminent physical danger to the EMS providers on the scene," read an advisory recently sent to Nassau medical first responders.

Before the coronavirus outbreak, patients who could not be revived after 20 minutes in the field were typically transported to the emergency room, where they were pronounced dead, according to a Newsday report. According to the committee, there is no medical benefit to transporting patients in cardiac arrest with CPR in progress.

"In fact, in systems where there has been a change to aggressive on-scene care and non-transport of patients without return of spontaneous circulation, the resuscitation rate has increased," committee officials said.

The Nassau Regional Emergency Medical Advisory Committee also claims that transporting acardiac arrest patient with CPR in progress reduces the chance of "intact survival" and increases the chance of provider injury.

According to the newspaper, those pronounced dead at the scene will now be taken directly to a morgue or a funeral home.

Patrick Ryder, the Nassau police commissioner, told Newsday the committee issued the rule about a decade ago but was only now implementing it.

Video of the Nassau Regional Emergency Medical Advisory Committee explaining new guidelines: