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November 29, 2022

Palm Beach Gardens Fire Rescue Wins 2022 PulsePoint AED Contest

City of Palm Beach Gardens received a $5,000 grant for the purchase of public defibrillators.

Pleasanton, Calif. (November 29, 2022)—The PulsePoint Foundation, a public non-profit 501(c)(3), announced today that Palm Beach Gardens Fire & Rescue (FL) has won the 2022 PulsePoint AED Contest, winning a $5,000 grant to purchase AEDs (automated external 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. Palm Beach Gardens Fire & Rescue collectively registered 179 AEDs at locations throughout the city including schools, government buildings, local businesses and gyms. Once the newly registered AEDs are vetted by public safety personnel their location will be made available to emergency responders during cardiac emergencies. View this map to see all AEDs registered through PulsePoint AED in Palm Beach Gardens. To register additional AEDs download the free PulsePoint AED app or register them online at AED.new.

“This award represents Palm Beach Gardens Fire & Rescue’s commitment to saving lives, but we can’t do it alone. Our residents and business owners are an important link in the chain of survival for cardiac arrest patients. Early hands-only CPR and defibrillation with an AED can significantly improve a person’s chance of surviving cardiac arrest. In fact, all of our recently resuscitated patients who were discharged from the hospital without disabling brain damage received bystander hands-only CPR prior to fire rescues arrival,” said District Captain Ashley Terrana. “Mapping AEDs through the PulsePoint AED app has greatly improved public access to AEDs within our community. This grant will enable us to add even more AEDs within the city.”

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 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 public 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation that builds applications for use by public safety agencies to increase community awareness during critical events. The PulsePoint Respond mobile app notifies trained individuals of the nearby need for CPR and the PulsePoint AED registry identifies AED (automated external defibrillator) locations for use by the public and 9-1-1 telecommunicators during emergency call taking. PulsePoint also provides specialized mobile apps for professional responders. Learn more at pulsepoint.org. The free app is available for download on the App Store and Google Play.

About Palm Beach Gardens Fire & Rescue

Palm Beach Gardens Fire & Rescue holds the distinction of being one of 301 fire departments worldwide to be accredited by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International. The agency is also accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services. Fire rescue services are delivered by 114 highly trained personnel to our 60,000 residents. There are five fire stations responding to a total of 13,000 emergency calls annually. The department is extremely proud of their resuscitation rates for cardiac arrest patients. In 2021, 57% of our resuscitated cardiac arrest patients were neurologically intact. That’s well above the national average of 7%. Additionally, the department has received the American Heart Association’s “Mission: Lifeline” Award eight years in a row. This award is given to agencies that meet strict criteria when treating patients having a heart attack.

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Contact
Shannon Smith
(773) 339-7513
shannon@pulsepoint.org

Candice Temple
(561) 799-4152
ctemple@pbgfl.com