Register AEDs for PulsePoint Foundation's Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month Competition

CINCINNATI, OH – Tomorrow is the start of Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month. To raise awareness the non-profit PulsePoint Foundation is rewarding communities for identifying and registering AEDs (Automated External Defibrillators). The Cincinnati Fire Department, UC Health, and the Cincinnati Emergency Communications Center (ECC) are partnered with PulsePoint to improve cardiac arrest outcomes in Cincinnati.

 

Each AED registered from October 1 through 31 will gain you an entry to win one of ten $500 Amazon gift cards. Collectively, if we are the community that registers the most AEDs, we will be granted $5,000 worth of new AEDs to provide to public safety staff or place in underserved parts of the community. 

 

“Together, we can create a registry of available AEDs that will help 911 keep our fellow Cincinnatians safe,” says Emergency Communications Center Director Bill Vedra. “And in addition to the AED registry, we encourage the public to become CPR certified and download the PulsePoint Respond app to be prepared in the event of an emergency.”

 

AEDs must be registered through the free PulsePoint AED app or online at AED.new. After verification by the ECC those AEDs are then added to the PulsePoint AED Registry to be shared with bystanders and 911 dispatchers during a cardiac emergency. The globally accessible PulsePoint AED Registry currently includes more than 115,000 AEDs. 

 

“This registry is a great step toward improving cardiac arrest outcomes in our community,” says Interim Health Commissioner Dr. Grant Mussman.

 

“Bystander intervention and early application of CPR and rapid defibrillation, occurring before first responders are on scene for a cardiac emergency, is crucial to improving a person’s chance of survival,” says Cincinnati Fire Chief Michael Washington. “Knowing the location of these devices can make a life-saving difference.”

 

Visit www.pulsepoint.org/aedcontest to download helpful resources and review the complete list of contest rules. 

 

Why Cataloging AED Locations is Crucial

More than 350,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) occur annually in the U.S. making it a leading cause of death. Survival rates nationally for sudden cardiac arrest are less than 10 percent. However, cardiac arrest victims who receive a shock from a publicly available AED (automated external defibrillator) administered by a bystander prior to EMS arrival have 2-3 times better odds of survival to hospital discharge and more favorable outcomes. Without bystander AED use, 70 percent of cardiac arrest patients either die or survive with impaired brain function. Despite the life-saving potential of AEDs, they are of no value if they cannot be located and placed into service during a cardiac emergency.

About the PulsePoint Foundation

PulsePoint is a 501(c)(3) public non-profit foundation based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Through the use of location-aware mobile devices, PulsePoint is building applications that work with local public safety agencies to improve communications with citizens and professional emergency responders, increase civic engagement and encourage the community to help reduce the millions of annual deaths from sudden cardiac arrest. Learn more at pulsepoint.org or join the conversation at Facebook and Twitter. The free app is available for download on the App Store and Google Play.