New Ipswich has been recognized by the state as a “HeartSafe Community” for its devotion to education and creating access to life-saving devices in public places.
During the Select Board meeting Tuesday, the town officially accepted the award, which is given by the state’s Bureau of Emergency Medical Services, Division of Fire Standards and Training and Emergency Medical Service, Department of Health and Human Services and the American Heart Association.
Communities can qualify for the award by accumulating “points” awarded for classes teaching the use of an automated external defibrillator, or AED, device, as well as CPR. Points are also awarded for AEDs which are available in public buildings and schools, and the training of first responders on ambulance calls.
The larger your town, the more “points” you must accumulate. For a town the size of New Ipswich, emergency services had to provide proof of at least 15 courses taught in CPR or AED use, and prove there are at least eight AEDs in public locations.
“We had more than that,” Fire Chief Meredith Lund said.
The town must also have AEDs on all its emergency service vehicles, and have CPR/AED trained personnel, and must dispatch personnel trained in advanced life support to all suspected cardiac emergencies.
Lund said firefighter Cameron Stacey took the lead on conducting an inventory of the town’s AEDs and putting together an application for the state, which has been approved.
The goal of the program is to improve the care of cardiac arrest patients before they are able to get to a hospital. According to the state, if a person experiences cardiac arrest, and is not immediately given CPR by a bystander, their chances of survival fall by 7-10 percent for every minute of delay until defibrillation is started. And 95 percent of deaths from sudden cardiac arrest occur before the victim reaches the hospital.