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Tomorrow Wall

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Providing Emergency Medical Services to Victims of Sudden Cardiac Arrest

Sudden cardiac arrest in the out-of-hospital setting often results in undesirable outcomes. Undaunted by the unfavorable odds, our skilled clinicians have successfully resuscitated thousands of victims of sudden cardiac arrest. In many cases, Return of Spontaneous Circulation (ROSC) is accompanied by complete recovery with no lasting neurological impairment. Remaining ever poised to provide care to the world at a moment’s notice is what enables GMR clinicians to produce such amazing results when every second counts. For years we searched in vain for the perfect way to celebrate the great clinical outcomes our caregivers have produced in sudden cardiac arrest cases.

Showcasing Cardiac Saves 
In 2017, Dr. Brian Clemency and Dr. Johanna Innes, medical directors in our Buffalo, New York operation, ended our search with an idea. They invented the “ROSC” wall to showcase the positivefounders-wall.jpg cardiac arrest outcomes produced by GMR caregivers. Doctors Clemency and Innes developed the idea that we would hang a plaque on the “ROSC” Wall for every patient who survived sudden cardiac arrest and experienced no lingering neurological deficits. Each plaque would bear the date of the cardiac event, the names of the GMR caregivers, and would also note any and all first responders who aided in resuscitation efforts. The only thing Doctors Clemency and Innes needed was a name for their wall.
 
Not letting the absence of a name for the wall stand in the way of celebrating the great work of our clinicians, Doctors Clemency and Innes, with help from Buffalo Fleet Manager Mark Braun, hung the first series of “ROSC” plaques.

The Tomorrow Wall® is Born
For nearly two years the number of plaques on the wall grew steadily but the wall remained nameless and stark. By default, people simply called it the “ROSC” wall. In late 2018, Indiana Operations Manager Lee Turpen erected a “ROSC” wall in our Evansville office. A few days later, when speaking about the “ROSC” wall to a group of colleagues, Regional Director John Robben said, matter-of-factly with a humble shrug, “I just call it the Tomorrow Wall,” a name that needs no explanation. In that moment, John named our wall and perfected that which Doctors Celemency and Innes had created. 
 
In addition to celebrating the great work of our teammates and the tomorrows they have given so many cardiac arrest victims, our Tomorrow Walls also serve as constant reminders of the importance of early, high-quality CPR, timely defibrillation, and Advanced Cardiac Life Support.

Tomorrow Wall Locations
As we celebrate lives saved, our Tomorrow Wall tradition continues to grow in operations across the country. Today, we have Tomorrow Walls in 14 cities including:

Northeast Region
Nashua, NH
Manchester, NH
Hartford, CT
Waterbury, CT
New Haven, CT
Bridgeport, CT
Springfield, MA
Buffalo, NY
Syracuse, NY
Escanaba, MI
Grand Rapids, MI
Dayton, OH
Evansville, IN

Southeast Region
Herndon, VA

South Region
Arlington, TX

Another Tomorrow

At just 18 year’s old, Mickenzie McAuley suffered sudden cardiac arrest while attending an event in Buffalo, NY. At the time of the arrest, McAuley had no medical history. Paramedic Darren Tippins, Paramedic Supervisor Eric Smith and EMT Amanda Juen responded and began resuscitation efforts. Our crew worked in earnest for over an hour attaining ROSC at which time the patient was transported to the local cardiac facility.

Mickenzie McAuley image

A year later, McAuley and her family stopped by the Buffalo office to thank those who saved her life. Her family extended an additional thank you on behalf of McAuley’s brother. As it turned out, McAuley had a congenital cardiac defect that caused her arrest. As a result of her event, her brother received cardiac testing which revealed that he too suffered a congenital problem just like his sister. Based on the test results, he received an implanted defibrillator as prevention against sudden cardiac arrest. While visiting the office, McAuley located the plaque related to her resuscitation and autographed it for the crew.


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