Howard County to Introduce Life-Saving App

Has an app ever saved you in a time of need?

The Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services aims to introduce what it says will be a life-saving app for those suffering from cardiac arrest.

This week the department is introducing a smartphone app called PulsePoint. When someone calls 911 about a person in sudden cardiac arrest, PulsePoint will notify citizens in the area trained in CPR that someone needs assistance. It also provides maps and directions to the nearest Automated External Defibrillator, or AED.

“Often nearby AEDs are not used when they could have made a difference,” the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services said in a statement.

Howard County will be the first jurisdiction in the state of Maryland using the app, according to the statement.

More than 1,200 communities in the U.S. and Canada have been using it already, PulsePoint reports.

When it launches the program, the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services will offer training for those interested in learning CPR.

The county is hosting a press conference on the introduction of PulsePoint on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 10 a.m. at the Roger Carter Community Center.

Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman, Fire Chief John Butler, Medical Director Matthew Levy and Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems Executive Director Dr. Kevin Seaman will join Marc Crumback, who helped save a life by performing CPR, and Mike Greenhill, who survived sudden cardiac arrest.

Photo Credit: PulsePoint.