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ALBANY, GA -- Officials at Phoebe say they are seeing better than expected results from their rapid Assessment Team.

It's a group of nurses and respiratory therapists that are always on call for patients with immediate emergencies.
 
About two years ago the team went through updated training to make deployment quicker for patients in need. Today the phoebe board of directors heard how that training has paid off.

“We have an increase in calls and we have a decrease in the incidents of cardiac arrest among hospital patients on the floor. And that is exactly what we want. If we can get those interventions in place before you start to have difficulty with your heart or difficulty with your breathing, then we know that your outcome and chances of coming home sooner are much much better,” said Tom Calabro of Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital.

There are about 175 trained members of the rapid assessment team. They respond two about 200 emergency calls a year.