The Greater Williamsburg HEARTSafe Alliance, along with the fire/EMS agencies of Williamsburg, James City County, York County and Poquoson, as well as Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center and Riverside Doctor’s Hospital, are pleased to announce the implementation of PulsePoint to further the Greater Williamsburg area’s commitment to creating a healthy and civically engaged community. The announcement and “kick-off” of this life-saving initiative was conducted in conjunction with the Greater Williamsburg HEARTSafe Alliance’s Health Fair and coincides with “Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month.”
PulsePoint is a free mobile app that can be downloaded onto smart phone type devices, which:
- Alerts CPR trained citizens of cardiac events in their vicinity so that they may administer aid until the arrival of Emergency Medical Services (EMS).
- Helps build a comprehensive Automated External Defibrillator (AED) registry.
- Informs the community of an emergency activity in real time.
PulsePoint Respond empowers any citizen to provide life-saving assistance to victims of sudden cardiac arrest. PulsePoint Respond app subscribers, who have indicated that they are trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and willing to assist in an emergency, can be notified if someone (in a public area in their vicinity) is having a sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) and may require CPR. The app will alert users of the potential need for CPR and the location of the nearest available AED (if one exists).
There is also a companion app, PulsePoint AED, which allows for the reporting and updating of AED locations so that responders, including nearby citizens, can access an AED which is close to them when a SCA occurs. Users input their AED information which is verified by local EMS authorities. Depending on the circumstances and AED access parameters, the AED data can be made available to users of the PulsePoint Respond app.
The PulsePoint initiative, as part of the Greater Williamsburg HEARTSafe Alliance and in cooperation with the participating fire/EMS agencies of Williamsburg, James City County, York County and Poquoson, has been implemented to increase bystander involvement in time-sensitive medical calls through the increased use of CPR and AEDs. Funding for the implementation of this program was made available by Sentara Williamsburg Medical Center, Riverside Doctor’s Hospital (Williamsburg) and generous community donations from civic organizations and individuals.
PulsePoint Respond and PulsePoint AED Download: https://www.pulsepoint.org/download/
For more information contact:
Greater Williamsburg HEARTSafe Alliance Executive Director at 757-253-0196
James City County Fire Department 757-220-0626
Media Contact:
Ryan Ashe, Fire Chief
757-565-7604; ryan.ashe@jamescitycountyva.gov