ECLS Center Certification Application Instructions

PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE PAGE
AND ADDITIONAL SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS PRIOR TO OPENING AN APPLICATION FOR THE ELSO CENTER CERTIFICATION PROGRAM.

All sections of this Application are required - including attached documentation where indicated. The accuracy of your responses will be verified by the ELSO Center Certification Review Committee during the application review and site visit.

At the end of each question is a number in parentheses; this number is a reference to the requisite ECLS Center Certification Methodology.

Definitions

For clarity and conciseness, several common definitions are used throughout this application:

• ECLS (Extracorporeal Life Support) is an umbrella term for all extracorporeal life support technologies, including Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO), Extracorporeal Carbon Dioxide Removal (ECCO2R), Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (ECPR), Extracorporeal Interval Support for Organ Retrieval (EISOR), and other forms of life support that utilize an artificial organ to support the patient. While this term is not inclusive of Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy (CRRT), the simultaneous deployment of ECLS and CRRT may require specific care considerations.
• ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) is defined as the provision of oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange using an extracorporeal circuit consisting of a blood pump, artificial lung, and vascular access cannulas, using blood flows sufficient to support oxygenation and concomitantly enhance carbon dioxide removal.
• Institution is defined as the hospital or medical center that houses the ECLS Program and serves as the site of care for all inpatient and/or outpatient clinical services.
• ECLS Program is defined as the ECLS program itself, including leadership, clinical staff, and administrative personnel dedicated exclusively or primarily to the provision of ECLS services. Note that where ECMO is the primary modality of ECLS care, the terms ECMO and ECLS may be interchangeable. However, where ECMO is provided alongside other forms of ECLS (such as ECCO2R, ECPR, and others), ECLS is intended to cover the full spectrum of services.
• ECLS Coordinator and ECLS Specialist are terms used to define particular roles within the ECLS program. These roles and responsibilities are further defined in the Program below. Some ECLS Centers may use one term or the other; for the purposes of the Program, ECLS Coordinator and ECLS Specialist are interchangeable with ECMO Coordinator and ECMO Specialist.

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