New medical emergency smartphone app could help save lives

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April 9, 2013 By

WXYZ DetroitDo you know CPR? Are you willing to help save a life?

Well, a new tool could enable you to act in the event of an emergency.

When someone is going into cardiac arrest, every minute counts. That’s why an app called PulsePoint helps put trained citizens at the scene of an emergency.

This app could really be the future of rescue operations. The app uses GPS and directs citizen rescuers to the exact location of the person in need of assistance.

Read the full article and watch the news segment by Alexandra Bahou at WXYZ-TV Channel 7.

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Nurse uses lifesaving app to find, try to help man in cardiac arrest

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April 4, 2013 By

Heather Rom (Portland Tribune)Heather Roms was inside her car near Pediatric Dental when she saw and heard the alert on her phone that someone nearby was having a cardiac emergency. The app gave her the address and location, and Roms quickly drove to Shari’s Restaurant, where a man was having a cardiac emergency.

A labor and delivery nurse who’s accustomed to using the most modern technology to save newborns in jeopardy relied on just her own skills to try and save a man’s life last week.

Heather Roms, 39, of West Linn, was just leaving her daughter’s dentist appointment about 9 a.m. March 27 on Southwest Town Center Loop in Wilsonville when she received an alert on her smartphone that someone nearby was having a cardiac emergency.

It was the first time she had seen the alert on her phone, and she guessed she must be pretty close to where it was taking place.

At first, the PulsePoint application showed only the address of the location where the emergency was happening. Those who subscribe to the app receive notification of the emergency at the same time as first responders.

In this instance, first responders were paramedics from Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue and AMR ambulance.

At first, Roms wondered whether she should respond, not knowing how instantaneously she received the alert.

Read the full article by Michelle Te at the Portland Tribune.

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Saving Lives with an App

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March 28, 2013 By

Mobile app notifies registrants when CPR is needed

Chief PriceRichard Price had an idea that grew into a smartphone application, and then a foundation, that may very well change the way EMS responds to cardiac arrest calls. The idea will certainly save lives, and it all started at a deli over a pastrami and rye.

Birth of an App
“I was out to lunch and was sitting in a deli with a few other people when I heard sirens in the distance,” Price says. “The sirens got louder, and then they pulled up right in front of the deli where I was eating.”

It turned out that the EMS crews were responding to a cardiac arrest call in the building next door. “If I had known, I could have made a difference. I know CPR and I have an AED in my car,” Price says. The event made him think about his smartphone and how the device knew his location and could tell someone else. “The idea came that we could possibly notify someone who was nearby an event using his or her phone,” he says.

That was three years ago, and the result of that event, and Price’s subsequent idea, has been the creation of PulsePoint, which was launched in 2012. Though the technology is sophisticated, taking hundreds of hours and many people to bring the idea to fruition, the actual PulsePoint app is simple. Users who are trained in CPR and have registered with the system as willing to assist in an emergency cardiac arrest situation will be notified on their smartphone if someone nearby is having a cardiac arrest.

Read the full article by Cynthia Kincaid on JEMS.

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Oregon Responder Alerted to Cardiac Arrest by PulsePoint

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March 28, 2013 By

TVF&R LogoAn Oregon citizen, alerted to a cardiac arrest at a Wilsonville restaurant by a special signal on her smartphone, became the first citizen responder to arrive at the scene of a medical emergency on Wednesday using the PulsePoint alert notification system.

Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue in Tigard, along with American Medical Response, were dispatched to a cardiac arrest at Shari’s Restaurant at 9:02 a.m. in Wilsonville. Simultaneously, TVF&R’s PulsePoint mobile app notified three nearby citizen responders that someone near their locations needed CPR.

Heather Roms, a registered nurse for Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland, was leaving a nearby business when she received the alert and responded to the restaurant. Upon arriving, she began hands-only CPR until EMS crews arrived.

Read the full article on Firehouse.com.

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Can a new smartphone application being piloted in Michigan save lives?

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March 10, 2013 By

Blue Cross Blue ShieldFor residents of Saginaw County, the odds of surviving sudden cardiac arrest are starting to get a lot better.

An initiative spearheaded by the Michigan CardioVascular Institute Foundation and Mobile Medical Response has made Saginaw County the pilot for a smartphone application called PulsePoint, the only county in Michigan involved in testing the technology. In fact, this is only the 12th implementation of the application in the country, and the first in the Midwest. The initiative was introduced during MCVI’s Shocks and Saves charity hockey game on Feb. 2, an event sponsored by BCBSM.

The premise behind the app is simple. People trained in basic CPR are encouraged to download the PulsePoint app. When someone goes into cardiac arrest, people who are trained and who are currently near the victim are messaged through the app so that CPR can be administered until the ambulance arrives.

“During cardiac arrest, seconds really do matter. Immediate chest compressions can triple the chances of survival. Waiting for the ambulance is not the answer — it takes a community to combat sudden cardiac arrest,” says Lynn M. Schutter, director of community relations/strategic planning for MMR.

Read the full article by David Lingholm at MI Blues Perspectives.

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Columbus Fire Officials Hope To Save More Lives With New CPR Phone App

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February 20, 2013 By

COLUMBUS, Ohio – When a heart stops beating, some central Ohioans could soon know where and when to help.

The Columbus Division of Fire is expected to join a growing number of fire departments with the ability to let people trained in CPR to respond to an emergency scene simply by responding a cell phone alert.

Statistics show if someone doesn’t perform CPR within a few minutes of a heart attack, the chances of survival aren’t good.

The Columbus Division of Fire can respond within four minutes to a call for someone who isn’t breathing.

However, the department said time could be drastically reduced with the introduction of a new cell phone app called PulsePoint.

Those with CPR training are encouraged to sign up.

“If you are shopping at a local grocery store and someone was having a cardiac arrest this app would pop up and tell you,” said Battalion Chief Shawn Koser, who is head of the Columbus Division of Fire’s EMS unit.

The app works in conjunction with the fire department’s 911 dispatch center. When someone calls 911 about a heart attack, the app sends the address to PulsePoint subscribers who may be closer to the victim than paramedics.

“We know that early CPR will save lives,” said David Keseg, the medical director for Columbus Division of Fire.

Keseg led the charge to bring the app to Columbus.

“It would be more likely to save lives if we had this in place,” Keseg said.

Read the full article by WBNS-10TV – Columbus, Ohio.

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Avera Heart Hospital partners with Sioux Falls Fire Rescue to enhance cardiac arrest survivability

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February 17, 2013 By

Avera Heart Hospital BannerSioux Falls Fire Rescue (SFFR) and Avera Heart Hospital recently revealed the lifesaving PulsePoint smart phone application. PulsePoint is the technology advancement that will further enhance cardiac survivability by engaging every day citizens willing and able to perform CPR, and when available, the use of a Public Access Defibrillators (AED).

See the full story on the Avera Heart Hospital website.

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Karen Eubanks from Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue Discusses the PulsePoint App with KGW News 8 Portland

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February 16, 2013 By

NBC affiliate KGW Portland reports on the Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue’s deployment of PulsePoint.

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PulsePoint app notifies trained bystanders of people in need of CPR

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February 15, 2013 By

Midland Daily News LogoOfficials in Saginaw hope a smartphone app will be able to connect people trained in CPR with those facing sudden cardiac arrest in the community.

The Michigan CardioVascular Institute Foundation and Mobile MedicalResponse recently announced they are offering the PulsePoint app for use in Saginaw County. PulsePoint, designed for both Android and iPhone, uses GPS to notify people with CPR training when an emergency cardiac event is happening near them.

Diane Fong, MCVI Foundation executive director, said the project will be piloted in Saginaw and could some day expand to the rest of the Great Lakes Bay Region.

The idea is simple, Fong said. If someone collapses and isn’t breathing, people would call 911 as usual and an ambulance would be dispatched to the scene. A message would simultaneously sent to PulsePoint, and the phone app would use GPS to notify users within a quarter-mile of the scene that an incident is taking place. The app includes a map showing the location of the victim and the nearest automated external defibrillator, or AED. A person using the app could locate the person in need, begin CPR and deploy the AED before the ambulance arrives.

“If you can start CPR immediately, you can double or triple the chance of survival,” Fong said.

Read the full article by Tony Lascari at the Midland Daily News.

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Contra Costa Fire Districts Launch Life-Saving Mobile App

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February 9, 2013 By

CCC Fire Agency LogosA new cellphone app launched by fire departments throughout Contra Costa County this week is designed to give everyday citizens a chance to save lives.

The PulsePoint app notifies smartphone users who are trained in CPR and willing to respond to emergencies when someone nearby is suffering a cardiac emergency and may require CPR.

Watch PulsePoint’s video

With the help of the app, trained people in close proximity to a possible cardiac emergency can begin life-saving measures that may stabilize a heart attack victim while waiting for emergency responders to arrive, according to Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Fire Marshal Lewis Broschard.

Users of the app can check their phones to see the exact location of a reported cardiac emergency and how far arriving emergency responders are from that location at any given time.

“The deployment of the PulsePoint app is the next step in developing a comprehensive network of life-saving efforts that includes fire department first responders, ambulance transport providers, the placement of publicly accessible AEDs, hospital emergency departments and members of the public who are trained in CPR,” said Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Chief Daryl Louder.

Read the full article by Bay City News at Walnut Creek Patch.

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