ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY, Va. – UPDATE:
Rockbridge County residents will soon have a powerful tool to help save lives. Beginning on February 14th, Rockbridge County Fire and Rescue will introduce PulsePoint, a free mobile app designed to alert CPR-trained citizens of nearby cardiac emergencies. PulsePoint | Building informed communities
The app, which is launching in Rockbridge County, along with the cities of Lexington and Buena Vista, is part of a broader initiative to improve emergency response in the area. Shane Watts, a lieutenant with Rockbridge Fire and Rescue, explains how the app works.
“We were graciously given a grant from the Central Shenandoah EMS Council for the region. The app allows a person to be notified if they need CPR and it also notifies those people within a quarter-mile radius and tells them where an AED is,” Watts said.
PulsePoint empowers bystanders, including off-duty medical professionals, to step in and provide life-saving aid before first responders arrive. Watts emphasized the significance of early intervention in cardiac emergencies.
“For every minute that someone is without CPR or an AED, there is a 10% reduction in survival rate. So, after five minutes, you’re already at 50%. If we can get someone there within 2 to 3 minutes—even if they’re not medically trained but have CPR skills—their chances of survival dramatically rise,” Watts said.
While PulsePoint is a national app, its impact could be especially significant in rural areas like Rockbridge County, where ambulance response times can be up to 15 minutes.
“Because we’re rural, the response time for the ambulance can be up to 15 minutes, so we’re already behind the eight ball at that point. I believe this app is going to dramatically change our percentage of successful cardiac arrest saves,” Watts said.
In addition to improving cardiac arrest survival rates, Watts hopes the app will encourage more community members to get involved in life-saving efforts by increasing CPR awareness and training.
“What the app allows us to do is get more people interested in community-based CPR so we can have more CPR-trained citizens, which will help improve our outcomes and increase our success rate,” he explained.
Beyond cardiac emergencies, the PulsePoint app will also help residents stay informed about other critical situations, such as flooding, ice storms, or downed trees.
“The app also allows us to give emergency information about safer routes during flooding or potential ice storms. It helps people know where these issues are so they can reroute and get somewhere safely. I think the impact is going to be huge for our region,” Watts said.
PulsePoint is free to download and will be available to Rockbridge County residents starting February 14th.
ORIGINAL:
Rockbridge County Fire-Rescue is launching the PulsePoint app on Feb. 14 to enhance community health and engagement in Rockbridge County and the cities of Buena Vista and Lexington.
This free app alerts CPR-trained citizens about nearby cardiac emergencies, helping them provide immediate aid.
“With PulsePoint we hope to increase bystander involvement in time-sensitive medical calls by increasing the use of CPR and AEDs, while also keeping the community informed, in real-time, of all emergency activities,” said Lt. Watts. “It gives our residents and visitors the ability to know when a cardiac arrest is occurring close by, locate AEDs in the area, and perform potentially lifesaving CPR while our personnel respond to the scene. It also shows them general information for all 911 calls to keep them better informed of what’s going on in our community.”
PulsePoint Respond offers real-time dispatch views, alerting CPR-trained citizens to nearby cardiac arrest victims. The app, funded by a grant from the Central Shenandoah EMS Council, empowers citizens to provide life-saving assistance. It alerts users in public places of the need for CPR and directs them to the nearest AED.
The companion app, PulsePoint AED, allows users to report and update AED locations, helping build a community registry. This data is verified by local authorities and made available to dispatchers and app users.
PulsePoint subscribers can also receive notifications about significant local events, enhancing situational awareness and community resilience.