In the fall of 2020, a 12-year-old boy in Sheboygan County called 911 when his mother went into cardiac arrest. As a result of a program that Advocate Aurora Health implemented with the Sheboygan County Sheriff’s Office, dispatchers walked him through what to do over the phone. With bravery and strength, he performed CPR until emergency medical services arrived and likely saved his mother’s life.
“About five years ago, we started our When Minutes Matter campaign supported by the Aurora Foundation,” Dr. Steven Zils, out-of-hospital medical director for Aurora Sheboygan Memorial Medical Center and medical director for Sheboygan County Sheriff’s Office and 911 center, said. 

“The aim was to improve cardiac arrest survival rates in Sheboygan and Ozaukee Counties. Part of this effort involved implementing a system called Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) in the 911 centers in each county.”   
This computerized system has a process that allows dispatchers to triage calls and provide prearrival instructions to callers/bystanders in different cases including cardiac arrest, choking, childbirth, severe bleeding, and more. With this system and training, the dispatcher can now provide medical advice and life-saving instructions over the phone. Dr. Zils and his team provides ongoing support and training to this program.  
“It continues to be rewarding to see the great patient outcomes we have when we partner as a health organization with our community partners,” Dr. Zils said.