Naperville Fire Department Given 2017 Heart Safe Community Award​

NAPERVILLE, IL. — The International Association of Fire Chiefs Fire Rescue is honoring the Naperville Fire Department with the Heart Safe Community Award today at its annual Med Conference in Nevada in recognition of the agency’s efforts to improve recovery after a cardiac arrest.

There was an overall survival rate in Naperville of 10.2 percent for those who suffered from cardiac arrest last year, which is 8.2 percent higher than the national average, according to the Naperville Fire Department.

“This well-deserved recognition is a direct result of the innovation, passion and hard work of the members of the Naperville Fire Department,” said Fire Chief Mark Puknaitis in a press release. “It is truly an honor to receive the Heart Safe Community Award in recognition of their outstanding efforts to not just meet the needs of the community but also to enhance the quality of life for its citizens and visitors.”

Over the last years, the Naperville Fire Department implemented innovative ways to improve the outcomes from sudden cardiac arrest. They increased awareness and prevention of sudden cardiac arrest and heart attacks. And they created and released new mobile smart phone apps which reports cardiac emergencies to registered users at the same time as the City’s Dispatch system sends out an Emergency Medical Service team.

The Naperville firefighters and paramedics are also getting recognition for their CPR/AED program which they teach throughout the community and for the placement AEDs in public locations throughout the city, so residents can initiate CPR prior to the fire departments arrival.

The department also created a ‘Pulse Point’ app for mobile devices, and recently implemented an E-Bridge notification application with Edward Hospital Emergency Medical Services System. The purpose is to allow CPR or AED to be administered more rapidly by nearby citizens and therefore to increase the chances of patient survival.

“For each minute that CPR or defibrillation is not given to a cardiac patient, their chances of survival decrease by seven to 10 percent,” said Naperville Fire Chief Mark Puknaitis. “While the Fire Department has an impeccable response record, seconds can save lives."

E-Bridge is a also a smart phone application that allows paramedic teams to notify the hospital of a cardiac event while still on the scene, giving a hospital more time to prepare for the patient, even pre-registering the patient to allow hospital staff to take the patient directly into treatment upon arrival without first stopping at a room in the emergency department, according to the police department. The application can send secure images and messages directly to the emergency room physician.

The Heart Safe Community Award is given to two communities each year, one with a population over 100,000 and to another with a population under 100,000. The Naperville Fire Department is receiving the award in the large community category.

Photo via City of Naperville