MIDLAND, MI--Community members who locate and record area automated external defibrillator (AED) units have the opportunity to win a $500 cash prize as part of the AED Scavenger Hunt sponsored by Pulse3 Foundation and Mobile Medical Response in Saginaw.
The contest, which runs July 12 through July 26, is a collaboration of the Shocks & Saves initiative of the Pulse3 Foundation (formerly MCVI Foundation) and MMR.
“There are literally hundreds of AEDs in public places in our communities,” said Lynn Schutter, MMR community relations director. “This contest has two great goals: to increase community awareness of AEDs, and to help us maintain the most accurate records of where those AEDs are.”
Prizes totaling nearly $1,000 will be awarded in both Saginaw and Isabella counties: $500 first prizes, $250 second prizes, and $200 third prizes. To be entered for the top three prizes, a minimum of 10 AED locations must be submitted. Anyone submitting a minimum of two valid AED locations will be entered into a drawing for a $50 cash prize, one each in Saginaw and Isabella counties.
AEDs are portable medical devices that analyze the heart rhythm of a nonresponsive person. The device can determine whether that person is suffering from sudden cardiac arrest and, if so, administer an electrical shock which can help the heart resume a normal rhythm.
In February of this year, Pulse3 and MMR launched the PulsePoint smart phone app. The app uses GPS to alert users when an emergency cardiac event is happening near them, and also alerts users to the nearest AED. Saginaw County was the second area in the country to launch the program.
“By June, PulsePoint had been downloaded by 2,700 people and seven real cardiac emergency alerts had been sent out by the app,” said Schutter.
The app is free and available for Android and iPhone
“We want every publically accessible AED to be loaded in the PulsePoint system. According to the Red Cross, for every minute defibrillation is delayed, chance of survival decreases by 10 percent,” Schutter added.
SOURCE: Midland Daily News