Medic One Foundation Expands Statewide Support with $50,000 Grant for CARES Registry
As part of its commitment to expanding life-saving pre-hospital care across Washington State, Medic One Foundation is proud to announce a $50,000 grant to support statewide participation in the Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival (CARES) for 2025 and 2026.
The funding was approved by the Medic One Foundation Board of Directors in June as a key component of the Foundation’s strategic plan to broaden support beyond the Puget Sound region. The investment will enable hundreds of EMS agencies and hospitals throughout the state to access and contribute to this vital national registry, helping improve cardiac arrest outcomes through consistent measurement, benchmarking, and collaboration.
Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) remains a leading public health challenge, affecting nearly 10,000 Washingtonians each year. Timely, high-quality emergency response is essential—but so is measurement. CARES enables participating agencies to track when and how cardiac arrests occur, what care was provided, and how patients fared. This data is critical to understanding what’s working, what isn’t, and where targeted improvements can save more lives.
Washington State has participated in CARES for more than a decade, with CARES data now forming the backbone of quality improvement programs such as telecommunicator CPR, police defibrillation, and the Global Resuscitation Alliance’s 10 Steps to Improve Survival. In 2023, Washington achieved the highest statewide survival rate for cardiac arrest in the country—including 15% survival for all arrests and 43% for witnessed shockable rhythms.
Until now, CARES’ participation in Washington has been supported through a combination of philanthropic grants and limited-time university funding. With this new grant, Medic One Foundation is helping fill a critical funding gap and ensuring the continuity of statewide data collection and reporting.
“We believe that what gets measured, gets improved,” said Craig Peterson, President of the Medic One Foundation Board of Directors. “Supporting the CARES registry aligns perfectly with our mission to advance pre-hospital emergency care and reflects our growing commitment to all communities across the state.”
This investment marks an important step in the Foundation’s statewide impact strategy—and in building a future where every person in Washington has access to the highest standard of emergency medical care, no matter where they live.
