Dennis Hoggarth of Camano Island is alive today thanks to the swift actions of bystanders including several registered nurses and a nearby off-duty firefighter/paramedic who were alerted through the PulsePoint Respond app, underscoring the lifesaving power of technology and community involvement in time-critical emergencies.

On May 23, 2025, Skagit 9-1-1 received multiple 911 calls reporting a cardiac arrest inside the Costco in Burlington. Simultaneously, an alert was sent out via the PulsePoint Respond app, which notifies CPR-trained individuals of nearby cardiac arrest events where CPR is needed.

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Bystander training on spotting and using defibrillators can greatly improve cardiac arrest survival, but many people don’t know what to do.

When a woman collapsed on an escalator at the Buffalo airport last June, Phil Clough knew what to do. He and another bystander put her flat on her back and checked her pulse and her breathing. Then she stopped breathing altogether. Realizing that she might be having a cardiac arrest, Clough immediately started doing chest compressions, pressing hard and quickly on the center of her chest, while others nearby called 911 and ran to get an automated external defibrillator. Within seconds of receiving a shock from the AED, the woman opened her eyes. By the time the airport rescue team arrived a few minutes later, she was conscious and able to talk with rescuers.

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While AED registries have traditionally been used to meet regulatory requirements, the growing use of dispatch-accessible, time-of-need emergency AED registries offers meaningful new opportunities to increase the use of these lifesaving devices. In addition to telecommunicator initiatives, communities are going further by using their registries to alert AED owners and program volunteers to nearby cardiac arrest events.

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