PRESS RELEASE
WASHINGTON — The American Red Cross, the premiere provider of resuscitation and first aid training, today announced the release of its newest resuscitation education program, Neonatal Advanced Life Support (NALS).
With more than one-third (35.1%) of U.S. counties experiencing maternity care deserts and over half of counties in the United States without a hospital that provides obstetric care1, expanding neonatal resuscitation education inside and outside of the hospital is more critical than ever. To address this need, the Red Cross collaborated with the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) to develop a new and innovative option for neonatal resuscitation training that addresses the management of newborns both in and out of the traditional delivery room or neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
“The American Red Cross is reshaping the neonatal resuscitation market to make education more accessible to all relevant healthcare and emergency medical services personnel – whether they be in hospital birthing centers, emergency departments or settings served by emergency medical services providers,” said Dom Tolli, senior vice president of Product Management and Platform Development for the Red Cross. “The Red Cross NALS curriculum is set to transform resuscitation outcomes in critically underserved areas of the country where obstetric hospitals and services are scarce.”
AWHONN affirms the need for expanding neonatal resuscitation education both within and beyond hospital settings. “This need has never been more urgent, especially as access to maternity care continues to decline in regions of the United States where it is most needed,” said Jonathan Webb, MPH, MBA, chief executive officer of AWHONN. “Currently, nearly 5.3 million women of childbearing age and approximately 350,000 babies are impacted by these gaps in care. The consequences are disproportionately severe for rural communities and people of color, who often face limited or nonexistent access to essential maternity care services.”2
The NALS program emphasizes evidence-based practices and aligns with the Consensus on Science with Treatment Recommendations (CoSTR) of the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) and the American Red Cross Neonatal Advanced Life Support Healthcare Guidelines as developed by the American Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council and AWHONN. It is consistent with the guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Heart Association. Further, it is the first neonatal resuscitation course to include high reliability principles throughout the course content.
The two NALS Blended Learning courses (Foundations and Comprehensive) combine evidence-based interventions, psychomotor skills and high-reliability principles with critical thinking and problem-solving strategies, equipping healthcare providers with the necessary tools for effective resuscitation of a newborn.
The NALS Foundations course meets the needs of providers who may be present at a birth or involved in the care of a newborn who may require resuscitation while awaiting the arrival of an advanced resuscitation team. The NALS Comprehensive course meets the needs of providers from initial steps through post-resuscitation care.
NALS will be offered as a stand-alone course by the Red Cross and AWHONN. The full Red Cross Resuscitation Suite™ curriculum, consisting of Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Life Support (ALS), Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) and now NALS, is available through the Red Cross or on HealthStream’s technology platform – the most widely adopted workforce development platform among the nation’s hospitals and health systems.
“The introduction of NALS marks a significant and innovative advancement to the American Red Cross Resuscitation Suite program,” said Luther Cale, vice president of Clinical Programs for HealthStream. “Enhancing neonatal resuscitation education both within and beyond hospital walls is crucial. This collaboration provides an innovative approach to support healthcare professionals in improving resuscitation outcomes.”
Additional program details about NALS and all Resuscitation Suite programs are available at redcross.org/resuscitation.
1, 2 Stoneburner A, Lucas R, Fontenot J, Brigance C, Jones E, DeMaria AL. Nowhere to Go: Maternity Care Deserts Across the US. (Report No 4). March of Dimes. 2024.
https://www.marchofdimes.org/ maternity-care-deserts-report
About the American Red Cross
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or CruzRojaAmericana.org, or follow us on social media.