Boone County News Release


Press Archives Press Room

For Immediate Release

Media Contact:
Jesslyn Chew, chewj@health.missouri.edu, (573) 876-0708
Joe Piper, JPiper@boonecountymo.org, (573) 554-1002


New Collaborative Effort Aims to Improve Cardiac Arrest Survival Rates in Boone County

Education and a new mobile tool will empower citizens to provide lifesaving assistance
(Originally released by MU Health Care on 6/3/21)

COLUMBIA, Mo. (June 3, 2021) ― University of Missouri Health Care, Boone County Joint Communications, Boone Health Ambulance Service, Boone County Fire District, Columbia Fire Department, and the Southern Boone County Fire Protection District have joined forces for a collaborative effort to educate and arm the public with tools to improve the odds of survival for those who suffer cardiac arrest.

In coordination with Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Awareness Week, which begins June 1, Boone County Joint Communications is announcing the adoption of PulsePoint, a free-to-download mobile application. The app is designed to notify users when someone nearby is experiencing cardiac arrest. If the emergency is in a public place, the application will alert trained citizens while simultaneously dispatching emergency crews to the location. The application also directs bystanders to the exact location of the closest public Automated External Defibrillator (AED).

“With this new tool we hope to increase bystander involvement in time-sensitive medical calls by increasing the use of CPR and AEDs, while also keeping the community informed, in real time, of  emergency activities,” said Chad Martin, director of the Boone County Emergency Communications Center. “It gives our community residents and visitors the ability to know when a cardiac arrest is occurring close by, locate AEDs in the area, and perform potentially lifesaving CPR while emergency personnel respond to the scene. It also shows them general information for select 9-1-1 calls to keep them better informed of what’s going on in our community.”

In an effort to increase the number of Boone County citizens who are trained to help during cardiac arrest, MU Health Care offers an outreach program called Save MO Hearts that teaches individuals to assist someone who has suffered sudden cardiac arrest by performing hands-only CPR until professional medical help arrives.

“You don’t have to do mouth-to-mouth anymore to save a life,” said Joshua Stilley, MD, chief of the Division of EMS at MU Health Care. “More lives can be saved if more Americans know CPR and how to use an AED. By offering citizens this training and by offering a valuable notification tool like PulsePoint, we believe we can dramatically improve the odds of survival for cardiac arrest patients.”

You can download the PulsePoint application on your mobile phone’s app store. To sign up for group CPR training through MU Health Care’s Save MO Hearts program, go to https://www.muhealth.org/conditions-treatments/emergency/save-mo-hearts​.

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About Boone County Joint Communications
Boone County Joint Communications is the 9-1-1 Public Safety Answering Point and dispatch center for police/sheriff, fire, and emergency medical services in Boone County, Missouri.  As the 'first' first responders, Boone County Joint Communications helps to save lives, protect property, and assist the public in their time of need.  For more information visit https://www.showmeboone.com/bcjc/.

About the PulsePoint Foundation:
Through the use of location-aware mobile devices, PulsePoint is a 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation building applications that work with local public safety agencies to improve communications with citizens and off-duty personnel, empowering them to help reduce the millions of annual deaths from sudden cardiac arrest.  For more information, visit https://www.pulsepoint.org.

About University of Missouri Health Care
University of Missouri Health Care is an academic health system with a mission to save and improve lives. Caring for patients from each of Missouri’s 114 counties, MU Health Care specialists treat the simplest and most complex medical conditions, discover breakthroughs and train the next generation of doctors to do the same. Committed to collaboration, research and innovation, MU Health Care has more than 6,000 physicians, nurses and health care professionals in over 80 specialties working together to give patients seamless care with the most advanced treatments and safest procedures. Serving more than 240,000 patients each year, MU Health Care facilities include Capital Region Medical Center, Ellis Fischel Cancer Center, the Missouri Orthopaedic Institute, Missouri Psychiatric Center, University Hospital, and Women’s and Children’s Hospital, as well as multiple quick  care, urgent care, primary care, specialty and affiliate locations. For more information, visit muhealth.org. For more information, visit https://muhealth.org.

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