CINCINNATI — It’s been one year since Damar Hamlin collapsed and went into cardiac arrest while the Bills played the Bengals last January. And while Hamlin’s story turned out to be a positive one, it became clear that he wanted to make an impact on all who helped his recovery and watched from afar.
What You Need To Know
- It's been one year since Damar Hamlin collapsed during a Bengals game and went into cardiac arrest
- All eyes were on UC Health, who administered care to Hamlin during the most critical points in his recovery
- After Hamlin's cardiac arrest, the Cincinnati community saw a six time increase in participants who learned CPR
- Thanks to Hamlin's foundation, the Chasing M's Foundation, UC Health was able to acquire a TEE ultrasound which is critical for patients with cardiac arrest
It’s hard to forget the moment Damar Hamlin collapsed, his future unclear. But as the Buffalo Bill was being treated here in Cincinnati, all eyes were on UC Health. Thanks to their care and those on the field, Hamlin made a remarkable recovery. Now a year later, his cardiac arrest is impacting the very emergency room where he was treated.
“This is transesophageal echocardiography," Dr. Arthur Broadstock, an emergency physician and ultrasound fellow at UC Health, said about their latest technology.
It is commonly known as TEE, a state-of-the-art ultrasound probe that is crucial for cardiac arrest patients.
“It’s kind of a continuous window of how the heart is doing," Broadstock said, "and is really important and has really stepped up how we’re able to care for patients with cardiac arrest.”
Broadstock is one of just a few doctors in the emergency room who know how to use the technology so far. The probe goes down the patient’s throat and is able to sit there with a clear view of the heart while administering other aid.
“The heart is right there in the middle," he said. "You can see it beating. You can see it squeezing with every compression. This really gives us a whole lot of information upfront, and it also gives us a lot of feedback on how we’re doing with the cardiac arrest. So it absolutely has the potential to save lives.”
This piece of equipment comes after a lot of increased attention around cardiac arrest in the last year due to Hamlin's situation. In fact, here in Cincinnati, his impact is felt sixfold in CPR training in the last year. Legislators across 12 states have passed CPR and AED requirements, including here in Ohio with House Bill 47 requiring AEDs in recreational areas at schools. Hamlin’s foundation is to thank for this new technology, which was paid for in part by Hamlin’s Chasing M’s Foundation.
“It has really affected the entire spectrum of cardiac arrest management," Broadstock said. "So he’s inspired many people to learn how to do CPR, for institutions to get AEDs so that patients can have them quicker. But then all the way up to us. We’re able to purchase this technology and then affect patient care once that patient arrives here to the hospital. So every step of the way, that story has really impacted the care of these patients.”
This care brings UC Health to the top of the game, the first in the region to have this technology in the emergency room.
“There are only about 33 programs in the country that are doing this in the emergency department," Dr. Broadstock said. "So this is something that we are really excited about, just to sort of get on that next level and to provide the best care that we can with patients with cardiac arrest.”