Each year, the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) EMS Section and their partners at ZOLL Medical Corporation presents the James O. Page Award to an exceptional leader in fire-service-based EMS who has played a key role in non-clinical innovation and achievements on a national scale.

This year’s recipient is Chief Richard Price, a previous Fire Chief for the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District and 33-year veteran of the fire service. He founded PulsePoint, an application that alerts citizen responders to cardiac arrests and other serious medical emergencies to start lifesaving care before the arrival of EMS.

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Annually, the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) EMS Section, with the support of the PulsePoint Foundation, recognizes fire-service-based EMS systems that play a key role in improving out-of-hospital response and treatment of heart disease and sudden cardiac arrest. Two Heart Safe Community awards are presented, one for a small/mid-sized community with a population of 100,000 or less and one for a large community with a population more than 100,000.

This year’s winner for the small/mid-sized community is Palm Beach Gardens Fire Rescue, FL and the large community winner is Sarasota County Fire Department, FL. Both departments have made significant investments in preventing, recognizing, and treating heart disease and sudden cardiac arrest.

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Bystander training on spotting and using defibrillators can greatly improve cardiac arrest survival, but many people don’t know what to do.

When a woman collapsed on an escalator at the Buffalo airport last June, Phil Clough knew what to do. He and another bystander put her flat on her back and checked her pulse and her breathing. Then she stopped breathing altogether. Realizing that she might be having a cardiac arrest, Clough immediately started doing chest compressions, pressing hard and quickly on the center of her chest, while others nearby called 911 and ran to get an automated external defibrillator. Within seconds of receiving a shock from the AED, the woman opened her eyes. By the time the airport rescue team arrived a few minutes later, she was conscious and able to talk with rescuers.

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Forsyth County Emergency Services receives five ZOLL® AED 3 Defibrillators to place in the community.

Forsyth County Emergency Services, in North Carolina, has won the 2024 PulsePoint AED Contest, winning five ZOLL® AED 3 Defibrillators for their community. The contest took place during the month of October, Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month, and was eligible to any community using PulsePoint AED to locate and register AEDs. Forsyth County Emergency Services collectively registered a record number of AEDs, 555, at locations throughout the county including schools, government buildings, local businesses and gyms. The newly registered AEDs are part of the free and universally accessible National Emergency AED Registry, hosted by PulsePoint.

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ZOLL’s donation of the National AED Registry™ to the Emergency AED Registry, hosted by PulsePoint, optimizes dispatch and citizen responder accessibility to AED locations

The PulsePoint Foundation, a public non-profit 501(c)(3) that builds public safety applications and maintains the Emergency AED Registry, announced today that ZOLL®, an Asahi Kasei company that manufactures medical devices and related software solutions, has donated the National AED Registry™ to PulsePoint. ZOLL’s donation will increase emergency call taker access to known AED (automated external defibrillator) locations for use during cardiac arrest call processing. The donation represents a shared belief that every AED in the U.S. and Canada, regardless of brand, should have the option of being accessible to all communities.

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Specially-trained, on-the-ground resources provided by local public safety agencies round out the initiative.

Many factors contribute to the psychological distress a lay responder may experience after witnessing a sudden cardiac arrest. These include the unknown or fatal outcome of the patient, the stressful and disorienting environment of a life-threatening medical emergency, self-doubt regarding preparedness or performance, and the once-in-a-lifetime nature of this type of event. Through a new mental health initiative, PulsePoint is providing focused mental health resources to responders after a cardiac arrest “CPR-needed” alert.

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In the initial moments after a cardiac arrest, seconds truly matter. Prompt deployment of an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) can be the difference between life and death. But the presence of a nearby AED may not be known to the caller or the emergency telecommunicator. Similar to providing cardiopulmonary resuscitation instruction (T-CPR), equipping telecommunicators with automated external defibrillator locations (T-AED) can improve outcomes. The PulsePoint Emergency AED Registry is accessible to telecommunicators through integrations with industry partners like PowerPhone.

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While AED registries have traditionally been used to meet regulatory requirements, the growing use of dispatch-accessible, time-of-need emergency AED registries offers meaningful new opportunities to increase the use of these lifesaving devices. In addition to telecommunicator initiatives, communities are going further by using their registries to alert AED owners and program volunteers to nearby cardiac arrest events.

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HEARTsafe Eugene Springfield receives a $5,000 grant for the purchase of public defibrillators.

The PulsePoint Foundation, a public non-profit 501(c)(3), announced that HEARTsafe Eugene Springfield (OR) has won the 2023 PulsePoint AED Contest, winning a $5,000 grant to purchase AEDs (automated external defibrillators) for their community. HEARTsafe Eugene Springfield is a partner organization of Eugene Springfield Fire and PeaceHealth. The contest took place during the month of October, Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month, and was eligible to any community using PulsePoint AED to locate and register AEDs. HEARTsafe Eugene Springfield collectively registered a record number of AEDs, 406, at locations throughout the city including schools, government buildings, local businesses and gyms. The newly registered AEDs are part of the 650 AEDs locally that are in the process of being vetted by public safety personnel so their location is available to emergency responders during cardiac emergencies.

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Jim and Alexandra Stears were at home when Jim suddenly went into cardiac arrest while watching TV. Luckily, their neighbor is Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue Lt. Jason Morgan, who was at home when he received a PulsePoint Professional Responder alert on his phone indicating that CPR was needed at a private residence...next door. Morgan retrieved his Philips AED, which he obtained through the PulsePoint Professional Responder pilot program, and made his way to the Stears' home, with his wife and son by his side. When Alexandra opened the door she was initially surprised by EMS' quick response, but then soon realized it was her neighbor and later remarked, "Oh, that's good. He's got the right training." Jim went on to make a full recovery after receiving high-quality CPR and a shock from the defibrillator, all before crews arrived.

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