When someone's heart suddenly stops, every second matters. A new M Health Fairview program is giving rural Minnesotans a better chance at survival by flying in lifesaving equipment and specialists when time is running out.

For years, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO, has been available only in major Twin Cities hospitals. It's a machine that temporarily takes over the work of the heart and lungs, keeping oxygen flowing through the body after a cardiac arrest.

"For the last decade within the Twin Cities metro area, we've been providing ECMO and ECPR for patients with cardiac arrest that does not respond to standard treatments," said Dr. Jason Bartos, a cardiologist with M Health Fairview at the University of Minnesota Medical Center. "This is a pump that provides normal blood

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