RQI Partners, LLC Enters Into An Agreement With HealthStream To Provide Access To Resuscitation Product Portfolio

Move positions company to bring a new standard of care to U.S. hospitals in effort to improve cardiac arrest outcomes

Dallas, TX /PRNewswire/ - RQI Partners, LLC, a joint venture partnership between the American Heart Association, the leading voluntary health organization devoted to a world of longer, healthier lives, and Laerdal Medical, focused on delivering innovative resuscitation solutions to dramatically enhance patient outcomes across healthcare systems, is taking another significant step in its goal to implement a new standard of resuscitation quality and patient care in U.S. hospitals. The company announced today it has entered into an agreement with HealthStream, a leading provider of workforce and provider solutions for the healthcare industry, to provide its customers access to the American Heart Association and Laerdal Medical's co-developed Resuscitation Quality Improvement® program and range of HeartCode® Basic Life Support, Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support and Pediatric Advanced Life Support eLearning programs on HealthStream's Learning Center™ (HLC). The agreement will be effective January 1, 2019.

Earlier this year, the American Heart Association and Laerdal Medical called for a new standard of care by shifting resuscitation practice away from course training once every two years to verified CPR competency for healthcare professionals provided through the Resuscitation Quality Improvement (RQI®) program. RQI is a self-directed, simulation-based performance, mastery learning and quality improvement program for healthcare professionals that offers "low-dose, high-frequency" hands-on learning sessions that provide vital CPR skills practice in 10 minutes every 90 days. Data is archived in a learning management system (LMS), which is used to track and document individual learner performance and competency.

"We're excited to collaborate with HealthStream, a company that shares RQI Partners' dedication to improving patient outcomes, to provide our customers access to our product portfolio on its LMS platform," said Clive Patrickson, RQI Partners' CEO. "This is a clear statement of RQI Partners' commitment to an LMS-agnostic environment. We look forward to exploring opportunities with additional LMS providers to further the reach of our resuscitation products – equipping professionals with the necessary skills to perform high-quality CPR on every patient, every time."

Each year, more than 200,000 adult cardiac arrests occur in U.S. hospitals and less than 26 percent of adult patients survive. High-quality CPR is the primary component that influences survival from cardiac arrest. In January 2019, RQI Partners will debut RQI 2020, a comprehensive, continuous quality improvement program that will deliver higher CPR quality at a lower cost to healthcare systems and professionals.

Currently, there are more than 400 U.S. hospitals that have implemented the RQI program and more than 300,000 healthcare providers have improved CPR competency since the program's introduction. Approximately 50 percent of these are currently receiving the RQI program through the HealthStream Learning Center. RQI Partners' resuscitation solutions will be HLC-validated, meaning they meet HealthStream's standards for high-quality delivery and integration with the HealthStream Learning Center.

For more information about RQI and RQI Partners, visit www.rqipartners.com.

About RQI Partners, LLC
RQI Partners, LLC is a joint venture partnership between the American Heart Association and Laerdal Medical, positioning the organizations to deliver innovative solutions that accelerate the impact of their lifesaving mission. The company blends the Association's leadership in science with Laerdal's expertise in technology and implementation to deliver impactful and innovative resuscitation quality improvement programs. For more information, visit www.rqipartners.com and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About the American Heart Association
The American Heart Association is a leading force for a world of longer, healthier lives. With nearly a century of lifesaving work, the Dallas-based association is dedicated to ensuring equitable health for all. We are a trustworthy source empowering people to improve their heart health, brain health and well-being. We collaborate with numerous organizations and millions of volunteers to fund innovative research, advocate for stronger public health policies and share lifesaving resources and information. Connect with us on heart.org, Facebook, Twitter or by calling 1-800-AHA-USA1.

About Laerdal Medical
Laerdal Medical, one of the world's leading providers of healthcare solutions, is dedicated to helping save lives with products and services for Simulation, Airway Management, Immobilization, Basic Life Support, Advanced Life Support, Patient Care, Self-Directed Learning and Medical Education. Laerdal is pleased to serve all healthcare providers and educators, from the lay rescuer to medical professionals. Laerdal operates sales and support offices in 23 countries worldwide, and with the head office located in Stavanger, Norway. For more information, visit www.laerdal.com or call 877-523-7325.