The city of Rochester and Monroe County have launched an initiative aimed at preparing residents to respond when someone goes into sudden cardiac arrest.
Through the HEARTSafe Rochester initiative, the city and county will pursue a goal of training 15% of the county's population — that's around 113,000 people — to perform CPR and use an automated external defibrillator, or AED.
"This is a mission for our entire community,” Mayor Malik Evans said in a statement. “We will work block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood, school by school, faith community by faith community to reach those 113,000 people. Everyone has the power to save a life. I believe Rochester can do big things. But we have got to do it together.”
The county and city will also give additional training to 911 dispatchers so they can better guide people through CPR and AED use when they receive cardiac arrest calls. And they'll work to place defibrillators in more public places.
These goals were set by the Citizen CPR Foundation, which developed the HEARTSafe community designation. City and county officials announced in February that they intended to pursue that designation.
“Improving the public’s understanding of cardiac emergencies and how to respond to them is the first step in saving lives,” County Executive Adam Bello said in a statement. “What happens during the first few minutes of any emergency can make a life-or-death difference."
The city and county are working with partners, including the University of Rochester, American Heart Association, and AMR ambulance service. The initiative will roll out through schools, businesses, nonprofits, and civic organizations.
HEARTSafe Rochester was launched during Sunday's Rochester Red Wings game, where it was First Responders' Day. Evans and Bello have also released a public service announcement around the effort.
