The phrase “Code Blue”-signifying an imminent or actual death-is heard less frequently in HHC hospitals thanks to the creation of Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) -- the critical care expert teams available to rush to a patient's bedside at the earliest sign of a potential problem. RRTs have helped reduce the number of cardiac arrests outside the ICU.

The Rapid Response Teams brings the expertise and immediate intervention of the ICU to the patient before their heart goes into full arrest, rather than wait to have to bring the patient into the ICU after a massive episode.

In the first year of implementation at three HHC facilities, the number of RRT interventions went up and the number of cardiac arrests outside the ICU went down. At both Coney Island and North Central Bronx, the number of cardiac arrests occurring outside the ICU dropped by 50 percent in four months, and at Bellevue the rate dropped by more than 75 percent. Rapid Response Teams will be available at all HHC hospitals in 2007. Rapid Response Teams are one of several patient safety best practices to help heart patients. HHC hospitals have for years been delivering evidence-based care, such as appropriate administration of aspirin and beta-blockers to prevent further heart muscle damage. HHC has been recognized by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) and the New York State Department of Health for achieving some of the best results in the nation.