NEW YORK (AP) -- A newspaper reports that New York City will soon require its ambulances transport some cardiac arrest patients only to hospitals equipped to provide cooling therapy, which is believed to increase the chances of survival.
Some hospital officials told The New York Times the shift would put smaller hospitals at a disadvantage because they may not have the sometimes expensive equipment to perform cooling therapy.
The treatment, called therapeutic hypothermia, is not available in most city hospitals. Only 20 of the 59 hospitals with emergency rooms say they will be able to provide the therapy by the policy's Jan. 1 deadline.
The Fire Department's chief medical officer said it would be irresponsible not to provide the therapy because scientific data shows the survival rate of cardiac patients is much better with it.
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