Public safety telecommunicators utilizing APCO’s IntelliComm software can now quickly direct 9-1-1 callers during time-critical cardiac emergencies to the closest automated external defibrillator (AED). The life-saving advancement comes from the implementation of an AED geolocation plan between APCO’s IntelliComm and the PulsePoint Foundation.

The tool enables 9-1-1 telecommunicators to inform callers of the location of AEDs while using existing medical dispatch protocols within IntelliComm’s software, with no changes to workflow—saving critical time during life-threatening emergencies.

Each year in the U.S., there are approximately 360,000 Emergency Medical Services (EMS)-assessed cardiac arrests outside of a hospital and on average, less than 10 percent of victims survive. The keys to survival are early recognition, early CPR and early defibrillation. Action taken by bystanders prior to the arrival of EMS results in victims being two to three times more likely to survive.

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The New Hampshire Department of Safety, Division of Emergency Services and Communications (DESC) proudly announces a new initiative that will make registering new Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) easier than ever before for New Hampshire businesses, thanks to collaborative efforts between the PulsePoint Foundation and Google.

On Monday, April 3, 2023, Google sent an email to all businesses in the State of New Hampshire that have created a business profile on their platform, encouraging them to register new AEDs that are not yet in the statewide database. The email included a link to the PulsePoint AED registration website, where Google will pre-populate the business’ location information, making it easy for business owners to complete the registration process.

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With your help dispatch center staff can inform 9-1-1 callers of nearby lifesaving devices.

In recognition of Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month, the PulsePoint Foundation will be holding a contest throughout the month of October to encourage AED location identification and registration so these life-saving devices can be disclosed to 9-1-1 dispatchers and those nearby during a cardiac emergency.

Anyone who registers an AED in October with the free PulsePoint AED app, or online at AED.new will be eligible to win one of ten $500 Amazon gift cards. Collectively, the community that registers the most AEDs will be granted $5,000 worth of new AEDs to provide to public safety staff or place in their community.

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CASE STUDY / APRIL 2021

Alaska’s Fairbanks North Star Borough sought to address the rural community challenges of low bystander engagement and slower response times in out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest response. As part of a comprehensive strategy that included participation in the C.A.R.E.S. Registry and Resuscitation Academy, bystander CPR training, CPR and AED awareness programs, and strategic AED placement, Fairbanks launched PulsePoint May 2019.

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Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) telecommunicators are a critical link in the cardiac arrest chain of survival. Placing the proper tools in their hands can improve outcomes.

The PulsePoint Foundation provides PSAP technology to make "Is there an AED nearby?" an unnecessary question during cardiac arrest call processing while also advocating for broad adoption of this lifesaving capability. Our goal is for the telecommunicator to instead inform the caller of the location of nearby AEDs. Consider how much more effective it would be to say, “there is an AED at that store,” and direct the caller to “send someone to retrieve the AED from the customer service counter,” as CPR instructions begin? We back our advocacy and commitment with comprehensive and accessible resources. By providing exceptional, industry-supported AED registry solutions at no cost—and we genuinely mean free in all aspects—we strive to remove deployment impediments.

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