Rapid Response Teams, also referred to as emergency medical teams, are designated teams of clinicians who identify high risk patients, respond to early signs of acute deterioration, and bring critical care expertise to the bedside before patients decline into a critical state. A crucial factor in ensuring the success of this intervention, and the strength of the teams, is effective and concise communication among all clinicians and particularly between all hospital staff involved in activating calls to the RRS team and the RRS team members who respond to those calls.

Thirty-eight hospitals throughout the Greater New York region have been participating in this collaborative. Funding for a portion of the RRS project is supported by a grant to the GNYHA Foundation by UHF and additional funding is provided by the New York State Department of Health.

GNYHA and UHF support the hospitals participating in the RRS Collaborative through:

• conducting ongoing educational programs;
• establishing an "expert-on-call" system;
• developing a Web-based resource; and
• providing data analysis and reporting.

Project Contact: Terri Straub