The Johnson County Board of Supervisors has officially proclaimed February as American Heart Month, reinforcing the County’s commitment to cardiovascular health and life-saving emergency response initiatives.
Over 436,000 sudden cardiac arrests occur annually in the United States, with 90% of them being fatal. However, communities with bystander CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and AED (automated external defibrillator) programs are making a difference. Johnson County has been designated the fourth HeartSafe community in the nation. This designation is due in part to widespread CPR training, increased access to Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs), and the adoption of the PulsePoint app which have strengthened the County’s response system to further prevent sudden cardiac arrests from becoming irreversible death.
The PulsePoint app alerts subscribers when a cardiac emergency is happening in a nearby public location. Community members who receive an alert will be guided to the person needing CPR and advised where the closest AED is located. This early care is vitally important in the period before emergency services arrive on the scene. 911 dispatchers and the PulsePoint app provide instructions on how to perform CPR and use an AED if needed.
During the Johnson County Board of Supervisors meeting on Jan. 30, Dr. Jim Merchant, chair of the Rotary-Kerber HeartSafe Community Campaign, was present to receive the proclamation and share a few remarks. “Supervisors, thank you for the proclamation. Thank you for your continued support for this campaign. I think you know that you have one of the best ambulance services in the country,” he said. Merchant attributed much of the success to the leadership of Johnson County Ambulance Service Director, Fiona Johnson, who also attended the meeting.
With an initial $10,000 grant, the Rotary-Kerber HeartSafe Community Campaign, partnering with the Johnson County Ambulance Service and staffed by Rotary and other volunteers, was launched in 2019. Since then, Merchant said the campaign has had success with obtaining financial support from donors of about $50,000 per year, allowing the campaign to offer AED packages at an affordable cost to nonprofits and businesses in Johnson County through a cost-sharing program. According to Merchant, the AED package costs over $2,000 retail, but nonprofits can buy them for $500, small businesses for $600-$750, and large businesses with over 100 employees for $1,000 through the campaign’s cost-sharing AED program. The AED package consists of an AED, an AED wall mounting case, a rescue kit (gloves, scissors, face mask), and wall AED signage. For more info on purchasing an AED, contact Fiona Johnson at [email protected].
This past year, the campaign purchased CPR mannequins and AED trainers which have been donated to the public libraries in Iowa City, North Liberty, and Coralville and will be available for checkout soon. The Johnson County Ambulance Service provides CPR and AED training and those interested are encouraged to contact them for more information or visit the Johnson County website to see about upcoming training sessions. https://www.johnsoncountyiowa.gov/department-of-ambulance.
Community involvement is necessary to save lives in Johnson County. Please make the commitment to learn Hands-Only CPR. Download the PulsePoint app, available on both Android and Apple devices, and be sure to enable critical alerts. Use a public access AED if you encounter a person who is unresponsive and not breathing normally.
American Heart Association Hands-Only CPR Instructional Video, English.
American Heart Association Hands-Only CPR Instructional Video, Spanish.
Free Hands-Only CPR instruction is available from noon to 1 p.m. Monday, Feb. 17 through Friday, Feb. 21, and noon to 1 p.m. Monday, Feb. 24 through Friday, Feb. 28 at Johnson County Ambulance, 808 South Dubuque Street, Iowa City.
To learn more about the Rotary-Kerber HeartSafe Community Campaign visit https://iowaheartsafe.org/.