(WASHINGTON, DC) – On Thursday, October 26, at 11 am, Mayor Muriel Bowser will announce the rollout of two new technologies designed to help DC residents suffering from cardiac arrests. Pulsepoint - the first technology – is a smartphone app that alerts registered CPR-trained individuals to an incident of cardiac arrest occurring in their immediate vicinity. The app is activated when a CPR alert is entered into the District’s 911 computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system at the Office of Unified Communications (OUC), and a nearby registered responder will arrive onsite to provide CPR until the first responders arrive. The second technology – Atrus – is an integrated program that allows an OUC operator to see the location of automated external defibrillators (AED), a battery-operated device that delivers a shock to a person in cardiac arrest in an effort to restore a regular cardiac rhythm, near the site of an individual in cardiac arrest. The OUC operator can then direct the caller or a bystander to access the device for fast deployment. To participate in Atrus, AED owners must register their devices with the Fire and Emergency and Medical Services (FEMS) AED Registry at aedregistry.dc.gov to activate the location of their devices.
Sudden cardiac arrest accounts for more than 350,000 deaths in the United States each year and is one of the leading causes of death in the country. Unfortunately, 95 percent of people who experience sudden cardiac arrest die as a result, mainly because treatment within minutes is not available. According to the American Heart Association, CPR done within five minutes of a person’s collapse combined with professional care can increase survival rates by as much as 50 percent.
For the past two and a half years, the Bowser Administration, along with DC Council, invested $12 million to improve the District’s emergency medical response system. FEMS has also trained more than 35,000 people in hands-only CPR through the Hands on Heart program and increased the number of call takers and dispatchers to decrease 911 responses times. Earlier this year, Mayor Bowser launched Text to 911, a new service that allows residents to request emergency services through texting who are unable to call.
WHO:
Mayor Muriel Bowser
Karima Holmes, Director, OUC
Gregory Dean, Chief, DC Fire and EMS
Meredith Atwell Baker, President, CTIA Wireless Foundation
Elliot Fisch, Director, Atrus
WHEN:
Thursday, October 26, at 11 am
WHERE:
Mayor & Brown LLP
1999 K Street, NW
*Closest Metro: Farragut North Metro Station*
Press interested in attending the event are asked to RSVP to [email protected]. To view the event online, visit mayor.dc.gov/live or tune in on Channel 16.