King County Fire Chiefs Association and Medic One Foundation on Thursday, June 2, 2022 announced the county-wide launch of PulsePoint, a free life-saving mobile app that notifies users when someone nearby is in cardiac arrest and needs immediate help.
The announcement highlights National CPR & AED Awareness Week, which runs from June 1-7, 2022.
“When a person goes into sudden cardiac arrest, every minute without CPR reduces their chance of survival, so immediate help from a bystander who can do CPR is critical,” said Dr. Tom Rea, Emergency Medical Services Program Director for King County.
PulsePoint is like an AMBER alert for sudden cardiac arrest victims. It uses location-based technology to alert community members to a sudden cardiac arrest in their immediate vicinity so they can get to the victim first and start hands-only CPR in those critical, life-saving minutes before first responders are able to arrive. The app only alerts individuals to a cardiac arrest in public locations, not a private residence, and will now be available for the first time county-wide.
In addition, the companion app, PulsePoint AED, allows users to report and update public AED locations so that community members can find a nearby AED when a cardiac emergency occurs. King County 911 dispatchers will also be able to access and share these AED locations with 911 callers.
According to the American Heart Association, more than 350,000 cardiac arrests occur outside of a hospital each year in the United States. Effective citizen CPR and a shock from an Automated External Defibrillator (AED), provided immediately, can double or triple the chance of survival. Now, thanks to the support of Medic One Foundation donors, PulsePoint Respond, as well as PulsePoint AED, are available throughout King and Snohomish County.
Here’s a video about it:
“The PulsePoint app means community members can help save lives by administering hands-only CPR,” said Kirkland Fire Chief Joe Sanford. “Whether neighbor or stranger, they can provide immediate help to someone in sudden cardiac arrest when they need it most – in those crucial minutes before medics get there.”
This joint effort by King County fire departments, NORCOM 911, Valley Communications, King County Fire Chiefs Association and Medic One Foundation aims to recruit and empower more than 20,000 community members throughout King County to download the free app and become PulsePoint responders. No training is needed and whether or not someone responds is completely optional.
“Our citizens are an integral part of the chain of survival and being notified by the PulsePoint app that someone nearby is in cardiac arrest can mean the difference between life and death,” Enumclaw Fire Chief Randy Fehr said.
With a grant from the Aldarra Foundation, Medic One Foundation is working with local fire agencies to bring PulsePoint to more communities in King and Snohomish counties. King County fire departments joins Seattle, Snohomish County and other fire agencies in western Washington that participate in PulsePoint.
The free PulsePoint app is available for iPhone and Android and can be Downloaded here. Both PulsePoint and PulsePoint AED are also available for free download at the Apple App Store and on Google Play.
SCHEDULE A CPR/AED CLASS
If you would like to learn CPR and how to use an AED, please visit the CPR/AED and First Aid training page to schedule a class. We offer both Hands-only CPR/AED classes and American Heart Association (AHA) Heartsaver® Adult, Child, Infant CPR/AED and First Aid training courses.
For more information, visit Medic One Foundation.
