Image courtesy of the City of Jackson Mayor's Office
Today, September 29, 2021, is World Heart Day. World Heart Day proactively increases awareness of the negative impact cardiovascular diseases have globally. Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is a leading cause of death in the United States with over 350,000 (SCA) events annually.
Locally, Jackson, Tennessee, averages 100 sudden cardiac arrest events each year with a 6% survival rate. In short, only 6 out of 100 residents will be successfully resuscitated following a sudden cardiac arrest event. We are doing something to change that in our community! The City of Jackson, West Tennessee Healthcare and Friends of Heart are partnering with Avive Solutions to significantly increase the survival rates from SCA through a Program called the 4-Minute City. The goal of the 4-Minute City initiative is to have neighbors helping neighbors by providing lifesaving Next Generation AED’s and hands only CPR to a cardiac arrest victim within minutes of their collapse.
According to National and Local statistics, low to median income neighborhoods have extremely diminished Sudden Cardiac Arrest survival rates. The low survival rates can be attributed to many factors including lack of AEDs and training. In an effort to improve survival rates in low to median income neighborhoods, the Fire Department will be focusing on improved AED deployment time by utilizing volunteer Jacksonians that are trained with the skills and equipped with the tools (AED) needed to intervene should a family member, neighbor, church member or co-worker suffer from a Sudden Cardiac Arrest event.
Together, we plan to bring cutting edge technology and forward-thinking ideas to Jackson by placing Avive’s intelligent AEDs across the city, and deploying their first-of-its-kind cardiac arrest response technology. Most importantly, we plan to work with the citizens of Jackson to create a culture of saving lives from cardiac arrest through free training and educational resources so that all of you are prepared to save a life. If you are interested in learning more about the program or would like to become a CARE Team member please contact Medical Officer Nate Schrupp at 731-513-0711 or visit the Avive website at https://avive.life/jackson/.
