HealthStream and Laerdal Partner to Offer Hospitals an AHA Blended Learning Solution

HealthStream and Laerdal Partner to Offer Hospitals an American Heart Association Blended Learning Solution for Basic Life Support and Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support Training

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – HealthStream (NASDAQ: HSTM), a leading provider of learning solutions for the healthcare industry, has announced that it has partnered with Laerdal Medical Corporation to offer cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and emergency cardiovascular care (ECC) training programs using a blended learning approach of online learning and hands-on skills evaluation. Each program centers around use of a unique manikin and an instructorless teaching / coaching system, known as HeartCode™. The two programs are based on the newly revised 2005 American Heart Association Guidelines for CPR and ECC, released in November of 2005. 

As one of the first customers to select this training program from HealthStream, Barbara Phelan, DNSc, RN, Manager, Yale-New Haven Hospital said, "Over 450 of our clinical personnel completed the program within the first seven days of having the new online option from HealthStream. This is significantly more efficient than other methods. Moreover, the quality of training provided in this online program supports our high standards of educational excellence."   

CPR is a combination of rescue breathing and chest compressions delivered to victims thought to be in cardiac arrest. Proper CPR can “buy time,” allowing a victim to survive a short time until advanced medical care is available. Based on a rigorous international evidence evaluation and consensus process, the American Heart Association updates its guidelines approximately every five years.

According to the association, in-hospital cardiac arrest outcomes are very poor. 2007 American Heart Association Heart and Stroke Statistics show that the rates of survival to discharge after in-hospital cardiac arrest are 27 percent among children and 18 percent among adults. Consequently, approximately 75 percent of all hospital personnel are currently required by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) to earn and maintain certification in Basic Life Support (BLS) training or the Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) training—both providing CPR instruction and emergency cardiovascular care guidelines – and the American Heart Association is the leading provider of such programs.

Laerdal Medical Corporation and the American Heart Association share a 10-year collaborative relationship, including a strategic alliance announced in July 2005, which includes a commitment to developing electronic BLS and ACLS training. In collaboration with Laerdal, these innovative learning programs will be offered to the nation’s hospitals through HealthStream’s online learning platform, where approximately 1.4 million hospital-based healthcare professionals are already active users. Upon release of training materials by the association last summer, the BLS training program was developed and is now being introduced to the hospital market by HealthStream. The introduction of the online ACLS training program is scheduled to occur during the first quarter of 2007.  

“We are pleased to introduce our new simulation-based BLS and ACLS blended training programs, which we believe will be the most innovative, effective, and instructive training of these important procedures ever offered to hospitals,” said Clive Patrickson, President, Laerdal Medical Corporation. “Our partnership with HealthStream enables the delivery of this high-impact training to hospitals through their Internet-based HealthStream Learning Center™, the most adopted learning platform in the industry. To reach hospitals with our new training programs, HealthStream was our first and only choice for a partner.”

HealthStream and Laerdal’s delivery of these new American Heart Association electronic learning solutions for BLS and ACLS training will save valuable resources for hospitals—both financial and in time-savings for personnel. On average, the financial savings for initial training and recertification are anticipated to range from approximately 50 percent to 70 percent over traditional classroom-based learning formats. By offering the course content portion online, healthcare professionals can choose to learn the material any time of the day and anywhere they have access to the Internet. Given the 24/7 work shift rotations in hospitals, this level of flexibility and convenience is highly beneficial. Moreover, clinical educators’ task of tracking, managing, and reporting on the training of their organization’s personnel is significantly streamlined through HealthStream’s learning management system.

“We are excited to offer our customers and all hospitals this important, required training that has a direct impact on the quality of patient care,” said Robert A. Frist, Jr., Chief Executive Officer, HealthStream. “Laerdal’s longstanding relationship with the American Heart Association to develop BLS and ACLS training is a testament to the high quality of their simulations-based instructional design expertise. Our partnership will offer the best in training through the best in online learning delivery to the nation’s approximately five million healthcare professionals working in acute-care hospitals.”

About HealthStream

HealthStream (NASDAQ: HSTM) is a leading provider of learning solutions for the healthcare industry. Approximately 1.4 million healthcare professionals have contracted to learn through the Internet-based HealthStream Learning Center™, HealthStream's learning platform. The company's learning products and services are used by healthcare organizations to meet the full range of their training needs, including training and assessment. Once subscribed to the HealthStream Learning Center™, customers benefit from increased compliance, reduced risks, and improved learning effectiveness. In addition, HealthStream has pioneered a new collaboration with pharmaceutical and medical device companies to assist them in product launch and market education initiatives within the company's nationwide network of hospital customers. (www.healthstream.com)

About Laerdal Medical

Laerdal Medical is headquartered in Stavanger, Norway and has various operations and over 1000 employees around the world. Laerdal Medical Corporation, NY, serves the Americas. Over the last 50 years, Laerdal's Resusci® Anne and other CPR training manikins have helped train over 250 million people worldwide in cardiopulmonary resuscitation. In keeping with the company's mission of helping save lives, Laerdal manufactures and distributes medical education and acute care products for the healthcare and emergency response communities. The recipient of numerous medical design awards, Laerdal is one of the foremost names in resuscitation, medical simulation, airway management, spinal immobilization, and basic and advanced life support products.

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties regarding HealthStream.  Investors are cautioned that such results or events predicted in these statements may differ materially from actual future events or results. This information has been, or in the future may be, included in reliance on the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including risks referenced from time to time in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Consequently, such forward-looking information should not be regarded as a representation or warranty by the Company that such projections will be realized.                       

Healthstream Contact:
Mollie Elizabeth Condra
(615) 301-3237
[email protected]

Laerdal Contact:

Marion Young

877-523-7325 ext. 4274

[email protected]