The Los Angeles County Fire Department’s (LACoFD) Community Brigade and Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Pilot Programs were among this year’s Los Angeles County 2025 National Association of Counties (NACo) Achievement Award winners.
Each year, NACo spotlights innovative county government programs in 18 categories. The LACoFD’s awarded projects are among 93 Los Angeles County department entries that earned achievement awards on NACo’s 90th anniversary.
- The ECMO Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Pilot Program, awarded in the NACo Health category, is a technique where ECMO is used to support patients in refractory cardiac arrest, meaning those where conventional CPR is not successful in restoring a heartbeat. ECMO essentially provides heart and lung support, circulating and oxygenating blood when the patient’s own heart and lungs are unable to do so. It’s a rescue therapy used when standard CPR measures fail. From February 2020 through September 2024, LACoFD firefighters and firefighter paramedics successfully transported 233 patients for ECMO evaluation. Ultimately, 57 patients were put onto ECMO and 13 or the patients survived to be discharged home neurologically intact.
- The Community Brigade Pilot Program (CBPP), awarded in the NACo Emergency Management category, is an innovative and groundbreaking local government/community partnership aimed at bridging the gap between first responders and local communities focused on disaster preparedness, support, and recovery. Launched across seven pilot communities within the Santa Monica Mountains, the CBPP has helped to educate and motivate disaster resiliency efforts.
Congratulations to all Department members and collaborative partners who contributed to both the ECMO CPR and CBPP Programs!
