Community Members Receive CPR Training and Pulse Point Information

MEDIA CONTACT ONLY: Mark E. Brady, Chief Spokesperson, 240-508-7930

MEBrady@co.pg.md.us @PGFDPIO

The Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department used their time at two community coffee club meeting today to teach hands-only CPR and the Pulse Point Program. Nearly 75 citizens were instructed at the Hyattsville and Clinton Coffee Club Meetings. Firefighters and Medics demonstrated the hands-only CPR technique and provided details on the Pulse Point phone app.

Coffee Clubs are meetings held monthly and attended by members of the community, public safety officials and representatives of local governments.

The app provides our residents and visitors the ability to know when a cardiac arrest is occurring close by, to respond quickly, and to attempt potentially lifesaving CPR while paramedics travel to the scene.

The app also 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. Pulse Point is not limited to emergency responders or those with official CPR certification. It can be used by anyone who has been trained in CPR.

The Pulse Point app provides users with a display of PGFD’s active and recent incidents countywide. On average, PGFD responds to 400 daily calls for service; more than 80 percent are for emergency medical services.

The latest AHA guidelines, published in Circulation, state that such community programs could increase bystander CPR to the roughly 326,000 cardiac arrests that happen outside the hospital each year.

The Pulse Point phone app can be easily downloaded from your phones app store, search pulse point.