Former San Ramon Valley Fire Chief Richard Price was having lunch one day when he saw one of his engines stopping in front of the restaurant. Someone in an adjacent business had suffered a cardiac arrest.

What really bothered him was that he, a trained responder was only yards away and he had an AED in his vehicle. Had he been alerted, he could have provided care much sooner than waiting for the responding professionals.

That moment was the genesis of what would become PulsePoint. This incident left the Chief wondering if technology could produce a way for CPR trained civilians to be notified of an arrest near them and advised of the location of an AED.

This program has grown astronomically since it’s inception. Technology has improved with next gen devices that can detect cardiac arrest, a large AED registry that supports the program and dispatch collaboration. If you ever wanted to be involved in saving a life, PulsePoint may provide the opportunity.

PulsePoint is a 501(c)(3) non-profit; unique due to history starting in a fire department with university partner. The two main initiatives of the foundation:

PulsePoint Respond

Emergency AED Registry

Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month

Contact PulsePoint at [email protected]

Thank you as always to Paragon Medical Education Group for their long-term support of the Disaster Podcast. Dr. Joe Holley and the team at Paragon continue to provide excellent and customized disaster response training to jurisdictions around the U.S. and internationally as well.