Heart Safe Community Award

Funder: International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) EMS Section with support from PulsePoint Foundation

Award Type: Recognition award (non-monetary)

Geographic Scope: United States

Award Categories:

• Small/Mid-sized Community (population 100,000 or less)
• Large Community (population more than 100,000)

Focus Areas:

• Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest response and treatment
• Heart disease prevention and recognition
• Sudden cardiac arrest survival improvement
• Cardiac care excellence

Eligibility:

• Fire-service-based EMS systems
• Communities that have made significant investments in cardiac care

What They Recognize:
Communities demonstrating excellence in:

• Bystander CPR programs - public education and training
• Dispatcher-assisted CPR - 911 center integration
• Nearby AED recommendation - public AED awareness
• Citizen alerting programs - community notification systems
• AED deployment - Public Access Defibrillation (PAD) programs
• High-performance resuscitation - quality emergency care
• Data collection and quality improvement - outcome tracking and analysis

Impact:
Recognized initiatives have proven to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with heart disease and sudden cardiac arrest.

Recognition:

• Formal recognition at Fire-Rescue Med (FRM) conference
• FRM is the premier fire-based EMS conference hosted by IAFC EMS Section
• Annual award tradition

Contact Information:

• IAFC: International Association of Fire Chiefs
• PulsePoint Foundation Email: info@pulsepoint.org

Reference Materials:

• Heart Safe Community Guide
• Heart Safe Community Guidelines
• How to become a Heart Safe Community resources
• Heart Safe Toolkit

Application Process

Submission:

• Communities apply annually for the Heart Safe Community Award
• Applications submitted through IAFC EMS Section

Required Demonstration:
Applicants must demonstrate how they have improved the quality of out-of-hospital resuscitation through:

1. Bystander CPR initiatives - training and awareness programs
2. Dispatcher-assisted CPR programs - 911 center protocols
3. Nearby AED recommendation systems - public access defibrillator awareness
4. Citizen alerting programs - community notification capabilities
5. AED deployment (PAD programs) - public access defibrillator placement
6. High-performance resuscitation - quality standards and protocols
7. Data collection and quality improvement - outcome tracking and analysis

Supporting Resources:
Applicants should reference:

• Heart Safe Community Guide
• Heart Safe Community Guidelines
• AED Registry information
• CPR Community Alerting guidelines
• CPR/AED Best Practices
• Citizen CPR/AED Alerting protocols

Selection Criteria:

• Significance of investments in cardiac care
• Integration of best practices
• Community engagement and collaboration
• Demonstrated outcomes and impact
• Sustainability of programs

Recognition:

• Winners announced at Fire-Rescue Med (FRM) conference
• Formal recognition from IAFC EMS Section
• Potential for national visibility