HEARTSafe Community
The Nassau County Medical Reserve Corps unit's "LifeSavers Initiative" goal for this year, after reaching the goal to get 2% of the residents trained in Hands Only CPR during 2023, is to work toward becoming a HEARTSafe Community.
What is a HEARTSafe Community?
The HEARTSafe Community program is a set of criteria and guidelines designed to improve outcomes to sudden cardiac arrest emergencies through a specific set of training, preparation and response protocols.
This criteria supports the cardiac arrest “chain of survival” and encourages communities to put that chain of survival into action. Activities include:
- Widespread CPR instruction
- Public access defibrillators
- Aggressive resuscitation protocols for first responders and area hospitals
Communities that strive to become “heart safe” must meet the criteria established by the Citizen CPR Foundation. Upon completion, they receive signage and official recognition as a HEARTSafe Community to demonstrate a commitment to citizen health and safety.
Well over 600 local, legacy HEARTSafe communities exist and we are adding new cities and towns as we promote the program nationwide. The Resource and Implementation Guide will help guide you through the process.
Communities like Hilton Head Island have come together to make CPR and AED training a community priority. In those communities, survival rates have increased and are well above national averages. Amelia Island and Fernandina Beach can do the same. The MRC volunteers are working hard to teach everyone how to save a life. The life you save might be your loved one.
To learn more, contact the Nassau County Medical Reserve Corps at NassauCountyFLMRC@gmail.com or click here to visit their website.