CUMBERLAND COUNTY, Pa. — The Peyton Walker Foundation, Emergency Health Services Federation, Avive, and multiple agencies have teamed up to provide a faster response time to sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). For the first time in the commonwealth, 25 Avive AED will be dispersed to the Cumberland County community today. Officials say this initiative called the 4 Minute City Program will make each minute count when someone is experiencing a trauma. 

“Every year over 300,000 Americans suffer from SCA,” said Megan Ruby, Deputy Director at Emergency Health Service Federation. She added, “This device is something that will be able to get to that individual within minutes of that event… which would help EMS have a better chance that individual will survive.”

The 4 Minute City Program initiative is to make an Avive AED available within four minutes of a collapse from SCA. Today, the Emergency Health Services Federation and The Peyton Walker Foundation will deploy 25 Avive AED throughout Cumberland County. According to the Clevland Clinic, cardiac arrest can be deadly if it lasts longer than eight minutes. 

Resuscitation science says that for every minute someone is in sudden cardiac arrest they lost a 10% chance of survival. EMS estimates about 8 minutes to get on the scene due to the location or distance the event is happening. 

“By the time EMS gets there, that patient will have about a 20% chance of survival at that point so if we have individuals get there in four minutes or less, that gives a larger percent of that patient surviving,” said Ruby. 

After today, 25 members of the Cumberland County community will have AEDs and increase the response time for sudden cardiac arrest. Ruby said data based on data collected by Emergency Health Services Federation’s EMS data, these AEDs will be placed in communities where SCA hotspots and where they often occur. Officials are hoping that by October, 300 AEDs will be available throughout Cumberland County. 

For participants who would like to join the 4-Minute City Program, click here. 

Download the FOX43 app here.