PEACH COUNTY, Ga. — Peach County EMS has implemented major changes in how it handles cardiac arrest calls, resulting in improved survival rates, officials say.

The agency reports that nearly 10% of cardiac arrest patients they treat survive with good brain function, slightly above the national average.

Brian Donaldson, EMS director, said there have been past challenges with survival rates.

"In recent history, our cardiac arrest survival rates have been dismal at best," he said.

To address this, Peach County EMS formed a task force with other agencies to adopt a new approach called Advanced Cardiac Resuscitation (ACR).

"Our goal is always to return somebody to their family and if we can get people to intervene that helps us do that," said Chad Davis, EMS deputy director.

He said

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