The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH), through its Office of Emergency Medical Services (OEMS), and the American Heart Association (AHA), are working to help the Commonwealth’s cities and towns improve the chances that anyone suffering a sudden cardiac arrest will have the best possible chance for survival.
Through the HeartSafe Community program, all communities can strengthen what the AHA calls the “chain of survival”:
a) Early access to emergency care
Bystanders recognize the symptoms of cardiac arrest and call 9-1-1 immediately enabling Advanced Life Support vehicles to be dispatched to the scene quickly
b) Early CPR
CPR is properly administered immediately after the victim collapses while awaiting arrival of a defibrillator and advanced care
c) Early defibrillation (Defibrillation is the delivery of electric shock to restore the heart’s normal rhythm)
Early defibrillation with an automated external defibrillator (AED) is the most critical link in the chain of survival
d) Early advanced care
Advanced care providers (paramedics) provide treatment critical to the survival of cardiac arrest victims
The MDPH/OEMS and AHA will recognize communities within Massachusetts for participating in initiatives that increase the potential for saving the lives of sudden cardiac arrest victims through the use of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and increased public access to defibrillation.
A “HeartSafe Community” VIGOROUSLY supports:
· the training of community members in CPR; and
· public access to defibrillation through strategic placement of automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) for use by public safety professionals and other trained community members
Designation as a HeartSafe Community is determined by gaining “heartbeats” (points). The number of heartbeats necessary for designation depends on the size of a community’s population.
Download the Word document with details on becoming a Heartsafe Community and a form to apply for designation of Heartsafe Community for your community.
HeartSafe Community for the College Campus Application (Central Massachusetts version)