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Concurrent Block #5

Special Interest

Leveraging the Principles of HeartSafe Communities® to Create a Culture of Excellence and Improve Community Engagement

The Rotary-Kerber HeartSafe Community Campaign: A Multidisciplinary Campaign to Improve Lay-rescuer Response and AED Density

Friday, December 1, 2023
10:35 AM – 10:50 AM PST
Location: Sunset Rooms 1 - 3
Disclosure(s):
Dianne L. Atkins, MD: NHLBI: Member of DSMB for Pediatric Heart Network (Ongoing)
Fiona Johnson, NR Paramedic, CAC: No financial relationships to disclose
Summary: The Rotary-Kerber HeartSafe Community® campaign provides a road map for engaging community partners in improving survival from cardiac arrest. It focuses on CPR training and AED access with a goal of becoming a HeartSafe Community.

Synopsis: Communities with aggressive campaigns incorporating bystander CPR and access to automated external defibrillators can save 60% of those suffering from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). The Rotary-Kerber HeartSafe Community Campaign (RKHCC) was established in 2019 by a local Rotary Club to increase survival from SCA in Johnson County, Iowa. Its goals were to inform and motivate laypersons to intervene effectively with CPR/AED use and increase AED access throughout the County.

The RKHCC started with a $10,000 grant in 2019 from Rotary and has since raised $150,000. Through a cost-sharing program, the Campaign provided 50 AEDs to local nonprofits and faith communities.

Despite challenges during the pandemic, training continued, AEDs were strategically placed, and PulsePoint was engaged. Come to this session to learn how Johnson County, Iowa became the fourth HeartSafe Community in the nation.

Learning Objectives:

  • Demonstrate how RKHCC organized a multi-disciplinary endeavor to improve lay-rescuer willingness to respond to cardiac arrest and develop a dense network of accessible AEDs throughout our community.
  • Discuss ongoing initiatives of the RKHCC to address inequities in lay rescuer response in Johnson County, IA.
  • This presentation will include ways to educate citizens that can lead to a comprehensive change to a culture of excellence and improved CPR training in the community, schools and workplace.
  • This presentation will discuss how to implement three (3) elements of a comprehensive dispatch CPR and/or rapid dispatch program.
  • This presentation will discuss ways to advance Public Access AED placement and utilization.
  • This presentation will describe one or more survivor / rescuer stories that can be used to illustrate an effective chain of survival for cardiac arrest.