The Rapid Action Response Team (RART) at Fort Hamilton Hospital is celebrating three years of making a difference for all hospitalized patients. Founded in April 2006, the team helps hospital staff to identify and intervene appropriately to subtle patient condition changes. Best of all, patients or their family members who notice new or concerning symptoms can activate the team on the patient’s behalf.
RART is a multidisciplinary team that consists of an Intensive Care Unit nurse and a respiratory therapist who help the patient’s nurse communicate with the physician. This specially trained team of health care professionals has helped Fort Hamilton see a steady decline in the number of “Code Blue” calls over their tenure.
The rapid responders are activated by a phone call from a nurse, the patient, or their family member. Once activated, RART team members assess the patient’s symptoms and vital statistics to devise a plan of action and treatment that often averts the trauma of a “Code Blue,” which typically is called if the patient’s heart stops beating. This “nip it in the bud” approach can only be successful with the help of the primary caregivers and the patient who must immediately report small but certain changes, such as shortness of breath or sudden fever, to the patient’s condition. A combination of these small symptoms can sometimes signal that a larger, possibly catastrophic, medical event is occurring. The goal of the Rapid action response team is early intervention to the subtle changes, avoiding deterioration of the patient’s condition, increased length of stay, and/or transfer to a higher level of care.
Because of the interventional work of the Rapid Action Response Team, Fort Hamilton Hospital has also seen a steady increase in the “Code Blue” survival rates of its patients. Guidelines are prominently displayed in patient rooms that clearly outline how the patient or a family member can activate RART, making them a true partner in their health care.
Because of the team’s resounding success, Fort Hamilton Hospital and its patients can look forward to more lives saved and increasing success in achieving patient excellence in the years ahead.
