STAMFORD, CT – The City of Stamford, in collaboration with Stamford EMS, Stamford Hospital, Stamford Downtown Special Services District, Stamford Public Schools and other community partners, announced the launch of the Stamford Hands for Life 2015, setting a goal of training over 10,000 people in compression-only CPR and the use of external defibrillators. Hands for Life events will be held throughout the week of September 21, culminating in the headline event on Saturday, September 26 at Westhill High School. All Hands for Life events are free and training takes only 15 minutes. Participants will be taught hands-only CPR by trainers dedicated to making Stamford and surrounding towns heart healthy communities. The campaign will be Co-Chaired by Anne Fountain, City of Stamford Director of Health & Social Services, and Dr. Tom Nero, Cardiologist.
Learning compression-only CPR is critical:
- Each year 785,000 Americans will have a heart attack
- Nearly 300,000 of these people suffer sudden cardiac arrest prior to arrival in the hospital
- Equivalent loss of life: 4 Boeing 747 aircrafts crashing & killing everyone on board each day of the year!
- Less than one in four receives CPR from a bystander, and only about 7 percent of cardiac arrest victims survive.
- Survival rates fall 10 percent each minute without CPR before emergency medical assistance.
- Every second counts so everyone needs to be prepared and ready to act!
“The more people who are trained to perform compression CPR, the safer our community will be. Fifteen minutes of your time could mean the difference between life and death for someone suffering from cardiac arrest. It’s as simple as that,” said Mayor David Martin, Honorary Chairman of the event. “I encourage everyone to attend or volunteer to be part of this terrific event.”
“We were thrilled with the response to the initial event, but this event will really demonstrate how our community can come together to help keep each other safe in times of crisis,” said Co-Chair Dr. Tom Nero.
In conjunction with the campaign, Joe Larcheveque from Stamford EMS will be introducing the free PulsePoint application, which will transform the way residents respond to life-threatening events. PulsePoint is a free application that will alert nearby trained responders if there is a cardiac arrest in their area. It will also notify them of the nearest defibrillator. Over 1,100 communities throughout the United States utilize the application.
All trained participants will be eligible and encouraged to download the application.
“We have trained thousands in Hands-Only CPR. People in our community are willing to help. PulsePoint gets these folks to those who need it the most. With this life-saving app, nearby subscribers can be notified and arrive on scene within seconds of an incident being reported, and every second counts,” said Joe Larcheveque of Stamford EMS.
Hands for Life Stamford was last held in 2012 and broke a world record after training 5,141 participants. The event received widespread positive reaction among the community members. 98% of people surveyed after the event felt that they would be prepared in the event of a cardiac event in a loved one. Even six months after the event, 95% of participants felt comfortable with their training.