Join us for an inspiring and educational session with Jennifer Hayes, a world-renowned resuscitation improvement champion who brings a uniquely powerful perspective to her work—she is herself a sudden cardiac arrest survivor.
Jennifer will share her personal survivor story before diving into the practical realities of cardiac arrest management from a clinician’s perspective. Drawing on her extensive experience leading CHOC Children’s Hospital’s resuscitation program in California, she’ll explore why high-quality CPR in those critical first minutes can mean the difference between life and death.
Under Jennifer’s leadership, CHOC’s median CPR quality increased from just 3.2% to 59% AHA-compliant compressions, and risk-adjusted survival improved from 37% to 45.5%. Her work has been featured in ILCOR’s “10 Steps to Improve IHCA Outcomes” as a landmark case study.
Programme
| Time | Session |
|---|---|
| 12:00 – 12:05 | Welcome and Introduction |
| 12:05 – 12:15 | Personal Journey – A Survivor’s Story |
| 12:15 – 13:00 | Cardiac Arrest: A Practical Perspective – Why high-quality CPR in the first minutes is critical |
Learning Objectives
By attending this session, participants will:
- Understand the importance of early, effective CPR – Appreciate the physiological basis for why compression quality directly impacts survival outcomes
- Explore gaps between perceived vs actual performance – Recognise the significant discrepancy between how well clinicians think they perform CPR versus objective measurements
- Learn from a hospital case study recognised in ILCOR’s 10 Steps – Gain insights from a real-world example of successful resuscitation quality improvement
Who Should Attend
This session is suitable for all clinical staff including doctors, nurses, paramedics, allied health professionals, and medical/nursing students. Whether you’re a resuscitation team leader or a ward nurse who may encounter cardiac arrest, Jennifer’s insights will transform how you think about resuscitation quality.
Also on the day: Jennifer will be running a hands-on workshop for resuscitation trainers at 1:30pm, and a professional development session for nurse educators at 3:30pm. She’ll also be recording an episode for the Five Things Nursing podcast.
About the Presenter
Jennifer Hayes, MSN, RN, CCRN-K is the Supervisor of Resuscitation and Simulation Programs at Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) in Southern California. With over 22 years of experience at CHOC, including 11 years as a PICU nurse and 6 years as a Clinical Educator, she now oversees all aspects of resuscitation quality, education, and simulation.
Jennifer is passionate about data-driven quality improvement and has led CHOC’s transformation from 3.2% to 59% AHA-compliant CPR quality. Her work has contributed to improved survival outcomes and has been featured internationally, including as a case study in ILCOR’s “10 Steps to Improve IHCA Outcomes.”
As a sudden cardiac arrest survivor herself, Jennifer brings a uniquely personal perspective to her work.