Livesaving app launched
EACH year, over 6000 Victorians suffer a cardiac arrest away from hospital. Last week, Hatzolah entered into a partnership with Ambulance Victoria to help curb the statistic.
EACH year, over 6000 Victorians suffer a cardiac arrest away from hospital. Last week, Hatzolah entered into a partnership with Ambulance Victoria to help curb the statistic.
Joining St John Ambulance, the Country Fire Authority and Life Saving Victoria, Hatzolah is part of the network of trusted medical professionals and qualified first aiders to become the “Good Samaritans” of the GoodSAM app (Smartphone Activated Medics).
When a triple zero call is made, the app uses GPS technology to notify up to three Good Samaritans of the patient’s location and the closest defibrillators, while emergency services are on the way.
The initiative was launched on Tuesday by Ambulance Victoria CEO Associate Professor Tony Walker and attended by Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews.
“It takes a community to save a life. And we are growing this community – a community that before this technology wouldn’t have even known someone just a few hundred metres away needed their lifesaving skills,” said Walker.
Hatzolah operations manager Danny Elbaum told The AJN of the organisation’s pride in participating in the program, which fits “perfectly with our mission of saving lives through rapid response”.
GoodSAM is rolling out across the state following a four-month pilot phase, which saw over 1100 Ambulance Victoria paramedics and first responders register with the app.
And it has already saved lives.
When Keith Young, 52, suffered a cardiac arrest in February, his family dialled triple zero and the GoodSAM app notified nearby off-duty paramedic Darren Murphy, who rode his bike to Young and assisted the family in performing CPR.
“If my family hadn’t reacted so quickly and Darren hadn’t received the GoodSAM alert and come to our aid, the outcome could have been very different,” Young reflected.
Every minute without CPR and defibrillation reduces someone’s chance of survival from cardiac arrest by 10 per cent.
REBECCA DAVIS
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