Sudden Cardiac Arrest is a Wicked Mess (2008~Ongoing)

Collaborators: Philadelphia University; University of the Sciences; Center for Resuscitation Science, Penn School of Medicine; and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Faculty: Dr. Larry Starr and Dr. John Pourdehnad; Dr. Allan Braslow, and Frank Poliafico, Organizational Dynamics Exchange Network; Drs. Benjamin Abella, Lance Becker, Dave Gaieski, Raina Merchant, and Vinay Nadkarni, Center for Resuscitation Science and Penn School of Medicine; Dr. Robert Brennan, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University; Drs. Jean Will Bail and Matt Dane Baker, Philadelphia University; Dr. Danny Benau, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia; and Mary Newman, Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation.

Description: Why despite the best efforts by everyone from lay person to professional responder do 93% of those who experience Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) in Philadelphia not survive? What are all the forces that contribute to survival and how do they interact? We believe that the current state of SCA survival in Philadelphia and across the US is a complex interactive problem also referred to as a “wicked mess.”

This project is to effectively understand and manage SCA survival using a systems framework and a systems methodology. We believe that borrowing these frameworks and methodologies from management science and applying them to SCA survival is a creative and worthwhile pathway to save more lives. More information is available on the project website.