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Making your community heart safeWhat is a heart safe community?
If you would like to make your community heart safe by placing AEDs wherever people live, work and play, A heart safe community participates in a public access defibrillation program like Allina's Heart Safe Communities. Through such programs, automated external defibrillators (AEDs) are place in the hands of emergency medical service, fire and police personnel. AEDs also are made available in nursing homes, businesses, churches, golf courses, schools — wherever people live, work and play. Immediate AED use can save anyone struck down by sudden cardiac arrest.  Charles Lick, MD, of Heart Safe Communities, holds an automated external defibrillator (AED) from the program he helped start. What is a public access defibrillation program?It raises community awareness about sudden cardiac arrest and the life-saving power of automated external defibrillators (AEDs). It also places AEDs in key locations in the community and teaches people how to use them. Successful public access defibrillation programs like Allina's Heart Safe Communities are endorsed by community leaders and receive support from local organizations and residents. Who can apply for heart safe community designation?Any municipality, county or organization in Minnesota or western Wisconsin (Allina's service area) can apply for heart safe designation. For more information, call 651-228-8470 or e-mail heartsafe@allina.com. We also encourage anyone interested in heart safe community designation to review our application packet (Adobe Reader required to view 19-page packet). New Brighton is the first Who started Heart Safe Communites?Allina Medical Transportation began Heart Safe Communities through the leadership of its medical director, Charles Lick, MD, an emergency room physician at Buffalo Hospital in Buffalo, Minnesota. "Sudden cardiac arrest is a common emergency – and immediate access to an AED can make the difference between life and death," said Dr. Lick. According to Dr. Lick, the chance of surviving an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest declines by about 10 percent each minute without defibrillation. Beyond 12 minutes, the chance of survival is 2 to 5 percent. "I tell community leaders that on that average, EMS teams in the U.S. take 6 to 12 minutes to respond," he said. "When they hear an ER doctor tell them that in most sudden cardiac arrest cases, an ambulance and paramedic won’t arrive in time to save a life, but quick action by the first person on-scene and an AED will, they take notice." Since Heart Safe Communities was launched in December 2001, the program has placed more than 400 AEDs in communities across Minnesota and western Wisconsin.  Back to Heart Safe Communities |
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Heart Safe Communities
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