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

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.

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The PulsePoint Respond mobile phone application will increase community awareness of medical emergencies and alert and direct CPR-trained individuals nearby to cardiac arrest victim.

The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management and City officials today announced the launch of PulsePoint, a mobile phone application (PulsePoint app) designed to support public safety agencies increasing cardiac arrest survival rates through improved bystander performance and active resident support.

“Time is of the upmost importance when it comes to helping someone experiencing a cardiac arrest. The PulsePoint app provides this critical element: closing the time gap between when CPR is started,” said San Francisco Fire Department Chief Jeanine Nicholson. “We want anyone willing and able to conduct CPR on someone experiencing cardiac arrest to download the PulsePoint app. This way bystanders and emergency medical first responders can work together to save lives.”

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