BENNINGTON, Neb. (KMTV) — Bennington Fire Department is bringing PulsePoint to the Omaha metro, an app that alerts CPR-trained neighbors to nearby cardiac emergencies, potentially saving lives before EMTs arrive.
- Bennington Fire and Rescue is leading the effort to bring PulsePoint to Douglas, Sarpy and Washington counties by early next year.
- In Lincoln, PulsePoint has already been up and running for nearly a decade.
- Data from 2024 shows that in the Omaha metro, bystanders only performed CPR 30% of the time before EMTs arrived.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
It's an app that saves lives — literally. And the Bennington Fire Department is working with other local agencies in the greater Omaha metro to bring it to our communities.
It's called PulsePoint. When a nearby cardiac arrest occurs, neighbors trained in CPR and automated external defibrillator (AED) use are notified so they can help.
Spearheading the effort to bring the technology here is Bennington Fire and Rescue. Assistant Fire Chief Chad Nixon tells us while fully staffed departments average between four and five minutes for EMT response.
“In some of the locations that we're trying to bring PulsePoint to, it could be closer to eight or 10 minutes before that first responder arrives based off of a volunteer department,” said Nixon.
Working with other local agencies, area hospitals, and groups like the National Safety Council, the goal is to close the gap.
"There are some people who are trained in CPR, but we just can't get their hands on the chest. There's a disconnector there. And so we need to, through tools like PulsePoint, notify them and get them to provide that assistance,” said Dave Keber, an Omaha Fire Department paramedic working with Nixon on the project.
In Lincoln, PulsePoint has already been up and running for nearly a decade. Lincoln Fire Battalion Chief Aaron Pospisil shares significant improvements in bystander CPR rates.
"When we started PulsePoint, our bystander CPR rates were 25 to 35%, somewhere in there, so not very good. Last year we were just over 75%. So made some pretty significant changes. PulsePoint was one of the additions,” said Pospisil.
Data from 2024 shows that in the Omaha metro, bystanders only performed CPR 30% of the time before EMTs arrived.
Local departments like Bennington Fire are looking to change that.
The Bennington Fire Department tells me the goal is to get the app up and running by the beginning of the new year.
