New county app aims to help save heart attack victims
NORRISTOWN » Montgomery County has launched a new free mobile app aimed at strengthening the chain of survival for cardiac arrest victims in the county.
The Pulse Point Respond app is connected to the Montgomery County Department of Public Safety 911 call center andwill alert those who have the app and are CPR-trained whenever an ambulance is dispatched in response toa sudden cardiac arrest in a public area within a quarter-mile of their location. It will also show the location of the nearest Automatic External Defibrillator if it is registered with Pulse-Point.
The app will not activate in hospitals, nursing homes or private homes, according to officials. Additionally, the app may not work for those looking touse the app on the edges of the county if their phone signal pings off of a non-Montgomery County cell phone tower.
The county contract for Pulse Point includes a onetime setup fee of $10,000, and an annual licensing fee of $18,000. Overall, the first year of the contract is $28,000, followed by $18,000 a year after that, according to the county.
Montgomery County is the first county in Southeastern Pennsylvania and the second in the state behind Allegheny County to launch this lifesaving app.
On Wednesday, Montgomery County Commissioners Valerie Arkoosh, Ken Lawrence Jr. and Joe Gale joined Dr. Ben Usatch, EMS director at Lankenau Medical Center and medical director for the Montgomery County Department of Public Safety; Dr. Timothy Shapiro, Chief of Interventional Cardiology at Lankenau Medical Center; Don Lynch, chief of Harleysville Area EMS and president of the Montgomery County Ambulance Association, and Richard Sax, a survivor of sudden cardiac arrest, to discuss the life-saving value of this new technology.
“By stander CPR and use of AEDs save lives. The Montgomery County Pulse-Point app will help those trained in CPR reach victims in need,” said Arkoosh, the commissioners chairwoman. “We are proud to be working closely with local fire, police, EMS and others to spread the word about the technology and also encourage more resi dents to get trained in CPR, so they can become part of the Montco-Pulse-Point team saving lives.” “I’ve seen the dramatic difference it makes when someone who has suffered cardiac arrest has gotten CPR,” said Dr. Timothy Shapiro, Chief of Interventional Cardiology at Lankenau Medical Center. “This app will help save lives.” “AEDs and CPR save lives,” Lawrence said. “We are excited to offer an opportunity for our first responders and CPR-trained residents to become part of a team that is focused on increasing the survival rates for those who go into sudden cardiac arrest.” “I think it’s unbelievable to see how far technology has come that in this day and age. It’s as simple as get-----
ting an alert to your phone to know where someone is in need of assistance under cardiac arrest and you’re able to respond to the scene,” said Gale. “It’s really remarkable. Somany people use their Androids and iPhones this day and age we can get people help when they need it.”
There is no database that will confirm whether individuals who download the app are certified in CPR, Arkoosh said. While her own CPR certification has “lapsed,” she said as an anesthesiologist, they didn’t always have to take the training coures as resuscitation would take place in the operating room. That said, she will be getting recertified and encouraged everyone to follow her lead by also taking a CPR course. The American Heart Association and the American Red Cross each have CPR training course locations listed on their websites.
For those unsure if they want to step in to help, Arkoosh said with an ambu---
lance on the way, just doing chest compressions to a cardiac arrest victim, without mouth-to-mouth resuscitation is just as effective as with it. The use of an AED and CPR is covered under the Good Samaritan Law, Arkoosh said, protecting those who want to help from liability.
In addition to calling on CPR-trained residents to sign up for the app, the Department of Public Safety is asking residents to use a second app to crowdsource locations of AEDs throughout the county. Pulse-Point AED tracks the locations of publicly accessible AEDs in the community. The app allows users to drop a pin on a map and enter a description of the AED’s location, and then snap a picture of it. The information is stored for local authorities to verify. Once verified, the information will be made available on the Pulse-Point Respond app.
“I’m really excited about (this is app),” Arkoosh said.