As instructors of Orange County CPR certification, we at SureFire are encouraged by the increasing convergence between CPR practitioners and technology. We’re specifically referring to a new iPhone application that alerts individuals certified in CPR of a case of a cardiac arrest victim nearby.
The application is being given a test-run in Chicago – the city council’s public safety committee is going to vote on it next week – and from initial reports, it looks tremendously promising.
It works like this: when 9-1-1 has been called to respond to a cardiac arrest incident, a volunteer who signs up for an alert gets a message telling them they are needed nearby. The volunteer receives a map with the location of the victim as well as the location of the nearest defibrillator.
The volunteer, therefore, can the administer CPR on the victim should they arrive before the paramedics.
Look for this application to spread across the country; the fire district in the city of San Ramon Valley, CA, for example, launched it recently, and more than 40,000 volunteers have downloaded it.
