Offering Cash Prizes: Saratoga County Initative to Bolster Defibrillator Database

BALLSTON SPA — Saratoga County officials this week announced its Office of Emergency Services is hosting a contest with cash prizes for those who help locate AEDs around the county. The contest, in partnership with the EMS Council, is an effort to grow the county’s automatic external defibrillator (AED) database. 

Contestants are asked to locate and upload photos and information of AEDs around the county using the PulsePoint AED app.  The contest runs through Aug. 13. 

Cash prizes will be awarded to the five people who register the most AEDs located in Saratoga County and will be distributed as follows: $300 for first place; $200 for second place; $150 each for third, fourth and fifth place. The initiative is funded through grants from PulsePoint and the EMS Council, each providing $950. 

PulsePoint works in the background at the computer-aided 911 dispatch center. When the call-taker verifies the location and determines there is a sudden cardiac emergency in a public location, PulsePoint automatically notifies CPR-trained individuals within a quarter-mile of the event. The PulsePoint AED app provides visual directions to the emergency along with the location of nearby AEDs.

According to Saratoga County OES statistics, on average, there are 35 cardiac arrest events in Saratoga County each month with 10 of them happening in a public location. The OES currently has 251 AEDs registered throughout the county and estimates there are more than 2,000 in total throughout Saratoga County. Most AEDs are located in schools, businesses, stores, fitness centers and restaurants.

To enter the contest, individuals must download the PulsePoint app and register with the OES.  To register for the contest use this link: www.surveymonkey.com/r/AEDcontest. To learn more about PulsePoint use this link: www.pulsepoint.org.