- Detroit Fire Department working to train all city employees in hands-only CPR
- More than 500 AEDs across Detroit are registered on the PulsePoint app
- More than 100,000 people have been trained in hands-only CPR and AED use in Detroit
- HEARTSafe designation highlights ongoing work to improve cardiac arrest care in the City of Detroit
More than a decade of hard work and dedication is paying off as Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and Executive Fire Commissioner Chuck Simms today announced the City of Detroit is the largest municipality to earn the HEARTSafe Community designation.
This achievement means Detroit is an official part of the HEARTSafe Community initiative, a national preparedness program dedicated to improving outcomes of sudden cardiac arrest, led by the Citizen CPR Foundation.
The Detroit Fire Department has been working to pursue the HEARTSafe Community designation to highlight their ongoing commitment to the cardiac health of Detroiters and to improving survival rates for patients who suffer cardiac arrest citywide.
“Our team has been working behind the scenes for nearly twenty years, gathering data on cardiac arrest, building relationships, and working to improve outcomes,” said Mayor Mike Duggan. “Thanks to the Citizen CPR Foundation for highlighting this critical effort and giving us actionable goals to continue to work towards.”
To become HEARTSafe, a community must fulfill 13 criteria. Some of these requirements include training 15 percent of the community population every year, developing and implementing strategies to improve public awareness and bystander intervention, permanently placing automated external defibrillators (AEDs) that can be quickly and reliably accessed, and recognizing rescuers for their lifesaving efforts, among other critical requisites. For a
comprehensive list of criteria in order to become a HEARTSafe Community, clickhere.
A work in progress
The work towards achieving and retaining the HEARTSafe Community designation is being led by Detroit Fire Department’s Medical Director, Dr. Robert Dunne and Captain Jeffrey Forbes, with support from Commissioner Simms and Mayor Duggan.
“I am proud of the dedication of the men and women of the Detroit Fire Department for their hard work towards becoming the largest municipality to be designated a HEARTSafe Community,” said Executive Fire Commissioner Chuck Simms. “Our residents deserve the best we can provide in terms of education and prevention, but we can’t do it alone. We need the support of the whole community as we work to improve cardiac arrest care for the citizens of Detroit.”
Since the City of Detroit joined the PulsePoint app in 2023 under the leadership of the Detroit Fire Department, there are now more than 500 AEDs registered in the City of Detroit, making it quick and easy for residents who have downloaded the app to find an AED in the case of a cardiac arrest.
The Detroit Fire Department also leads the critical work of CPR training in the City of Detroit, in collaboration with community partners. Through these partnerships, more than 100,000 people have been trained in CPR in the past year in the city. This work is being done at city recreation centers, community events, and through training programs offered across the city. Detroiters can sign up for CPR training here: https://calendly.com/dfdacademy.
Several community partners are collaborating in this important work, including Detroit East Medical Control Authority, American Heart Association, American Red Cross, area hospital systems, Ford Field, General Motors and Grainger, among others. The full list of community partners can be found at https://detroitmi.gov/departments/detroit-fire-department.
Today’s announcement is just a step as the City of Detroit works towards even greater improved outcomes of cardiac arrest. The teams charged with this essential work will continue making progress toward several goals, including:
- Train 15% of the city’s population in CPR every year
- Work to train all City of Detroit employees in at least Hands-Only CPR
- To have all 8th grade students in the City of Detroit trained in Hands-Only CPR
- Encourage organizations and community groups in the City of Detroit to develop cardiac arrest emergency response plans
- Purchase additional AEDs and install them in key public places
- Continue to promote AED registration through the PulsePoint app
- Educate the community on the risk of sudden cardiac arrest, prevention and how to respond in an emergency
To continue to be recognized as a HEARTSafe Community, the City of Detroit must keep making progress in these areas.
“The Citizen CPR Foundation is so proud to designate Detroit as a HEARTSafe Community,” says Stuart Berger, MD, Citizen CPR Foundation Board President and Executive Director, the Heart Center at Lurie Children’s Hospital. “Leading up to this designation, Detroit has done impressive work in improving their system of care for sudden cardiac arrest. The impact of these well-delivered community-based strategies will be measured directly in the number of lives saved in their city.”
City of Detroit community partners
1. Advantage Health
2. All 19 City of Detroit Recreation Centers
3. All 7 Detroit District Managers
4. American Heart Association
5. American Red Cross
6. Ascension Providence
7. Ascension St. John’s Hospital
8. Childrens Hospital
9. City of Detroit Mayor and Staff
10. Corewell Dearborn
11. Corewell Farmington
12. Corewell Grosse Pointe
13. Corewell Health
14. DEMCA
15. Detroit Area Agency on Aging
16. Detroit Athletic Club
17. Detroit Department of Elections
18. Detroit Health Department
19. Detroit Medical Center - Childrens Hospital
20. Detroit Medical Center - Detroit Receiving
21. Detroit Medical Center – Hutzel Hospital
22. Detroit Medical Center - Sinai Grace
23. Detroit Medical Center (DMC)
24. Detroit Police Department
25. Detroit Public Safety Foundation
26. Detroit VA Medical Center
27. Detroit Public Schools Community District
28. Eastern Market
29. Ford Field (Detroit Lions)
30. General Motors
31. Grainger
32. Henry Ford Cottage
33. Henry Ford Health System
34. Henry Ford Hospital Detroit
35. Homeland Security
36. Homeroom Detroit
37. HUDA Clinic
38. McKinney Foundation
39. MiSide
40. Numerous Places of Worship
41. Riverhouse Coop
42. Rocket Companies
43. SaveMIHeart
44. Stryker
45. Team Wellness
46. UAW
47. VA
48. Wayne County Sherriff
49. Wayne State Mobile Health
50. Wayne State University
51. WDIV Channel 4
52. Zoll
53. Special Thanks to Thomas Miscovich –DPD 911
