Several agencies in Linn County have announced an app to help alert people to heart attacks in their neighborhood. KLCC’s Brian Bull reports.
PulsePoint Respond is free and available for iPhone and Android.
Micah Smith, a lieutenant with the Linn County Sheriff’s Office, says users who’ve downloaded the app --and have CPR training-- can be called in to help someone suffering sudden cardiac arrest in a moment’s notice.
“That alert will go to their phone, and on a map they’ll not only see where the event is in proximity to them, they’ll also be able to click a button and see all the AEDs (Automated External Defibrillator) that are within that area...and be able to go and get that, to help them aid in resuscitating that person from that cardiac event.”
Smith says such PulsePoint users can administer aid until EMS responders arrive, improving the victim’s chances of survival.
The PulsePoint app was developed in California. Smith says it’ll cost Linn County $18,000 the first year to implement, then $8,000 every year afterwards.
