A new information system will help Metro Louisville emergency dispatchers in helping callers locate automated external defibrillators, says Mayor Greg Fischer.
Metro Louisville emergency dispatchers will be able to direct 911 callers to the nearest defibrillator using a new system announced Thursday.
The AED Link—for automated external defibrillator—system will show the location of registered AEDs on 911 agency maps.
AEDs are created for use by people with no training; using the map, dispatchers will direct 911 callers to AED locations when necessary
Louisville Metro EMS responds to about 1,200 cardiac arrests annually with a 30 percent resuscitation rate, said Ben Neal, paramedic and head of the city's cardiac arrest program management.
Mayor Greg Fischer said AED Link has the potential to make every AED in Louisville 35-times more likely to be used in an emergency.
"It's easy to see through the data that the challenge is to get as quick of a response as possible to a cardiac arrest victim so that we can save them and pull them through it," he said.
In a news release,the city said: "EMA/MetroSafe has partnered with Louisville Metro EMS and other community groups to reach owners and managers of office buildings, restaurants, malls, gyms, recreational venues, churches and other locations where AEDs may be available."
Fischer declared January "Register your AED Month." He encourages everyone to register their devices online.
The key to saving someone in cardiac arrest is quickly starting CPR and AED defibrillation, Neal said.
"If we're not getting someone there quickly to perform chest ccompressions and to deploy these AEDs, we're losing a lot of our citizens and our family in Louisville," Neal said.