In honor of Valentine’s Day, and the one-year launch anniversary of the Cardiac Arrest Awareness application PulsePoint in Linn County, Sheriff Bruce Riley is pleased to share that more than 13,052 people are followers of PulsePoint throughout Linn County. The PulsePoint smartphone app empowers residents to take action during a cardiac event, while awaiting response by EMS professionals.
The app notifies users of the closest available Automated External Defibrillator (AED). Early application of bystander CPR and rapid defibrillation from an AED have proven to be crucial in improving a person’s chance of surviving sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). PulsePoint is not limited to emergency responders or those with official CPR certification. It can be used by anyone who has been trained in CPR.
Linn County residents will find eight community Fire Departments and Districts are PulsePoint participants: Albany Fire Department, Brownsville Rural Fire District, Harrisburg Fire District, Halsey-Shedd Rural Fire Protection District, Lebanon Fire District, Tangent Fire District, Sweet Home Fire District and Scio Fire District.
There have been 50 activations of the app for cardiac arrest (occurring in a public location) since the launch of PulsePoint one year ago. From those activations, there have been 910 citizen responders alerted to the need for CPR/AED care within .5 miles of the alert location. More than 50% of all people who install the PulsePoint application also enable CPR alerts, so they can be notified of a cardiac arrest incident near them.
“With the Sheriff’s Office and our 9-1-1 Communications Center working closely with all our Fire/EMS agencies we dispatch, PulsePoint is making a difference by significantly decreasing the time it takes to get help to a cardiac arrest victim. With early notification of 9-1-1 calls, rapid intervention of bystander CPR/AED care can take place while paramedics are en route,” said Sheriff Bruce Riley.
The free PulsePoint app is available for iPhone and Android and can be downloaded from the iTunes Store and Google Play.
Download the
PulsePoint App Here