Is Wilton Not Prepared Enough to Prevent Cardiac Arrest Deaths?

At last night’s (Monday, April 6) Board of Selectmen meeting, Wilton resident and heart-health advocate Nancy Capelle appealed for town support for two efforts aimed at preventing cardiac arrest deaths in Wilton.

Capelle, a volunteer with the Wilton Volunteer Ambulance Corps, asked the selectmen to support (financially and otherwise) the implementation of a program called PulsePoint, based on a smartphone app which can be downloaded by anyone who is CPR trained. It’s a program that can coordinate with the town’s emergency dispatch system, she said.

“If a call goes out about cardiac arrest in a public place, whoever has downloaded that app on their iPhone as a citizen responder [within a quarter-mile radius] will get a notification of the location of the cardiac arrest as well as the location of the closest automatic external defibrillator (AED),” she explained.

Capelle said she was raising the issue out of a concern that there are not enough AED devices in public places in Wilton. She cited two separate instances where someone went into cardiac arrest at Wilton’s Stop & Shop, including an incident three weeks ago involving an employee who went into cardiac arrest and later died.

“There is no AED at Stop & Shop. The year prior I had spoken to Stop & Shop about the importance of getting an AED, but nothing was done,” Capelle told them, adding that there no AED in the River Road shopping plaza, Starbucks or Wilton Bow Tie Cinemas.

“I know there’s a lot of attention on the Miller-Driscoll renovation and all of that, but I’m very much concerned that everyone’s attention is focused on that, and that something terrible is going to happen because we’re not watching out for cardiac arrest.”

According to statistics she quoted, more people die of cardiac arrest than from cancer and AIDS. Capelle pointed out that cardiac arrest can happen to children as well.

“We’re not well equipped within our schools. We have one or two AEDs, and I’ve just come to learn that faculty is not trained in CPR, which I find extremely hard to understand,” she said. She pointed out that cardiac arrest can accompany other medical issues including anaphylaxis and asthma as well as choking.

She also said that there is no current database listing all the locations of AEDs in Wilton; there is only a Google map that she compiled.

Capelle said PulsePoint is already in use in some Fairfield County towns, including Stamford, and that EMS departments in surrounding communities (including Norwalk, Stamford and Westport) are eager to coordinate on it. She added that she first heard about the program from Wilton’s deputy fire chief Mark Amatrudo.

“I vowed to him I would see it through, and I am committed to that promise,” Capelle said.

There is no cost to individuals to download the PulsePoint app. Capelle said the town would initially need to pay $10,000 to integrate the PulsePoint technology with the town’s dispatch system; that cost is determined by a community’s size. She said ongoing support and maintenance of the infrastructure would cost $8,000.

When asked by the selectmen how many AEDs the town would need to add for sufficient penetration, Capelle said, “Think fire extinguishers. Every building has a fire extinguisher. Every building based on size has multiple fire extinguishers and that’s up to fire code.  Someone needs to get that AED and bring it back to the patient, put the electrodes on and deliver that first shock all within that 4-minute time frame to give them the best chance for survival. We can double or triple the chance for survival if we can do that.”

First selectman Bill Brennan asked Capelle to put together a step-by-step implementation schedule, and also suggested she make the same presentation to the Board of Education. “It’s a very compelling presentation and an eye-opener.”

He added that once she comes back with a more specific plan, they’ll be better able to vote on it.

The selectmen also suggested Capelle reach out to the Visiting Nurses Association to involve them.

Asking for Town Support of ‘Hands for Life’ CPR Event

Capelle also asked the selectmen for official town support of an upcoming event focused on training the public in CPR.

“Hands for Life” began five years ago as an event in Stamford, held as an attempt to set a world record for the most people trained in CPR in one day. Since then, similar events have been held in Darien and New Canaan, and two more events are being planned in Norwalk and Stamford.

Capelle told the selectmen about another event being planned for the Westport, Weston and Wilton communities.

“The event is going to be on May 3, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.. It is free, open to everybody, and it takes 15 minutes from start to finish to be trained in CPR,” she said. Participants will be trained in hands-only CPR and how to use an AED (automatic external defibrillator).

While the training at Hands for Life isn’t enough for participants to be certified in CPR, it will be sufficient enough for them to register with PulsePoint as a bystander citizen responder.

The event will be sponsored by Norwalk Hospital, and it will take place at the Westport YMCA. Capelle listed several groups who are collaborating on the event:  Westport/Weston/Wilton Medical Reserve Corps, Westport EMS, Wilton EMS, Westport CERT, Wilton CERT, the American College of Cardiology as well as the American Heart Association.

The selectmen unanimously approved supporting the Hands for Life program and agreed to hang a banner in front of town hall to promote the event.