Letters to the Editor

Letter: Help locate local AEDs

Do you know where the nearest AED, or automatic defibrillator, is?

An AED, along with hands-only CPR, is the best way to keep someone alive until firefighters and emergency medical service personnel arrive. AEDs are devices that almost anyone can use to restore certain heart rhythms, even without prior training. Hands-only chest compressions can maintain blood pressure to the heart and brain while the paramedics are on the way.

When someone calls 911 to report a cardiac arrest, the free PulsePoint-Respond app alerts nearby app users along with the location of the nearest AED.

There are many more AEDs in the community than we know about. We need the community’s help in identifying the location of AEDs so that they can be quickly located in an emergency. If you locate one in a public space or your place of business, you can report it to us two ways.

Download the free PulsePoint-AED app and snap a photo — it’s just about that easy. Or, go online to AED.new to report a new AED location. During October, every AED you locate enters you to win a $500 Amazon gift card.

Thanks for helping to give the best chance of survival to people in sudden cardiac arrest.

— Douglas R. Schrage

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Chief, Anchorage Fire Department

Anchorage

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