News Release
Contact:
Matt Hughes
St. Margaret Foundation
412-784-4215
hughesmp@upmc.edu
For Immediate Release
PULSE Sets World Record for AED Training
1,839 Pittsburgh Public School Employees Learn How to Use Lifesaving Equipment
PITTSBURGH (Aug. 29, 2007)—On Tuesday, Aug. 28, Pittsburgh United for Life Saving Emergencies (PULSE) set a new world record for the largest Automated External Defibrillator (AED) training session in one day at one venue. PULSE is a program operated by St. Margaret Foundation and UPMC St. Margaret hospital.
The record is considered unofficial until sanctioned by the Guinness Book of World Records™, which is now in process.
PULSE trained 1,839 Pittsburgh Public School employees. The achievement broke the record formerly held by the Glendale Fire Dept. and Southwest EMS in Glendale Arizona, set July 29, 2006, at Cardinals Stadium where 1,039 individuals received training.
An AED unit uses electrodes to “shock” the heart of those suffering from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) before police or medical teams arrive on the scene. They have been used more than 300 times, and have been directly responsible for 39 lives being saved in the area serviced by St. Margaret Foundation. Through its PULSE program, the Foundation has installed 700 AEDs at 300-plus sites, and provides expert training and maintenance to keep the units functioning properly and ready at a moment’s notice.
“Paramedics, EMTs, nurses, various health care providers, and other volunteers donated their time at the event so that the Pittsburgh Public Schools can become a heart-safe environment,” said Dave Bianco, PULSE Program Coordinator for St. Margaret Foundation. “PULSE also plans to donate 100 AEDs to be strategically placed throughout the entire Pittsburgh Public Schools district.”
The August 28 event also included training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), which was taught under the guidelines of ECSI (Emergency Care and Safety Institute), but did not attempt to break the current world record, which stands at more than 2,000 people trained at once. ECSI certification for CPR and AED use was given to all attendees who completed the skills successfully. “This is a concerted effort to not only break the record for the most people trained in a day to properly use the AED and administer CPR,” Bianco explained, “but, more important, it’s a great opportunity to raise awareness of the need for as many people as possible to learn these life-saving techniques.”
In addition to St. Margaret Foundation and UPMC St. Margaret, other partners in helping achieve the record-setting attempt were:, City of Pittsburgh EMS, Emergency Care and Safety Institute, Mercy Hospital, Pittsburgh Public Schools, Community College of Allegheny County Public Safety Institute, Preston Products, Cardiac Science, PA Lifeservers Inc., Parent Heartwatch, and the Omni William Penn Hotel.
For more information on PULSE, contact Bianco at 412-784-5262 or visit online at www.stmargaretfoundation.org.
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