Community Heart Watch is a committee built on the collaborative effort of EMS/firefighters, businesses, schools and medical providers in Perry, Hocking and Fairfield Counties. These dedicated groups share a common purpose: They are committed to improving survival rates for sudden cardiac arrest. Sudden cardiac arrest is a prevalent medical emergency in which the heart stops beating without warning – victims collapse and die in a matter of minutes if they do not receive chest compressions and have their heart restarted using an AED (automatic external defibrillator). In fact, the chance of death increases 10% for every minute care is delayed, and 90% of victims in the United States do not survive. Fatality rates are even higher in southern Perry County, where the absence of full-time EMS and sporadic volunteer coverage has resulted in EMS response times that often exceed 30-40 minutes.

To reduce the length of time between collapse and emergency care, communities must rely on innovative ideas, including the implementation of “Field AED” programs. In this approach, volunteer firefighters or other medically trained individuals in the community are given an AED to keep in their home. When a cardiac emergency occurs, these “Field Responders” are dispatched by 911 to take the AED directly to the scene and provide lifesaving care while waiting for EMS to arrive. This technique has proven successful for volunteer departments in other rural settings.

This project is requesting $7,650 to purchase 5 AEDs and implement a “Field AED” program in southern Perry County. We will work with EMS/fire departments in Corning, Shawnee, New Straitsville, and Monday Creek Township to identify individuals to participate in the program and will monitor outcomes over the next year. In addition, we will bring our Mobile CPR Training Trailer to various community events to provide free training in hands only CPR and AED use to further equip the community to respond in an emergency.

Southern Perry County is one of the hardest to reach and hardest to serve parts of our region. There are limited medical resources and travel to that part of the county can take time in the best of circumstances, let alone in severe weather or emergency situations.

The Field AED Program will empower community members and local EMS and fire departments in Corning, Shawnee, and New Straitsville to respond to cardiac emergencies when called, likely saving lives in the process.