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Boca Raton, FL – January 21, 2013 — Atrus, Inc, and Orange County (Florida) EMS have announced a new partnership aimed at saving lives in Orange County with the addition of Atrus’ AED Link™ system. This new information system will assist 9-1-1 dispatchers in helping callers locate life-saving automated external defibrillators (AEDs) available near sudden cardiac arrest victims.
With AED Link™ 9-1-1, dispatchers instantly view the location of registered AEDs near the scene of sudden cardiac arrest emergencies and instruct bystanders to retrieve one in time to help save a life.
To encourage the registration of AEDs, the County is reaching out to owners and managers of office buildings, restaurants, malls, gyms, recreational venues, churches and other locations where AEDs may be available. AED owners should register their AEDs at the county’s AED Registry, orangecoutyfl.nationalaedregistry.com. By registering their AEDs, owners will also receive a number of free benefits including periodic reminders to check the device and timely reminders to change electrodes and/or batteries when the expiration dates approach.
“The problem is that, until now, publicly available AEDs are rarely used in an emergency because people can’t see them and 9-1-1 dispatchers are unaware they are nearby,” said Dr. George Ralls, Orange County’s EMS Medical Director.
“The AED link system is truly a technological advancement that will leverage community wide resources in a way that will serve as an enhancement to emergency services in our life saving mission. This system will provide a critical link between those in need suffering from a reversible cardiac event and the appropriate lifesaving resource, as well as those registered AED responders that have the potential to save a life when every second counts”, said Otto Drozd III, Fire Chief of Orange County Fire Rescue.
“It is widely quoted that survival from cardiac arrest decreases 10% for every minute that goes by,” Atrus’ CEO and President Elliot Fisch added. “AED Link can decrease the time to first shock by assuring that available AEDs are used. There are too many stories of people dying in buildings that have AEDs or AEDs nearby. AED Link was created to solve that problem.”
About Atrus, Inc.
Atrus, Inc. (www.atrusinc.com) is a South Florida-based. AED Link™ is a licensed software program that can be integrated with all forms of computer aided dispatch systems and emergency medical dispatch software. With the addition of Orange County, AED Link is installed in 24 EMS systems in California, Florida, Minnesota, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Canada. The system serves 241 municipalities covering a population of nearly 5 million.
About Orange County, FL
Located in Central Florida, Orange County includes the city of Orlando and a dozen other incorporated municipalities. World famous attractions, the nation's second largest convention center and year round sunshine help make Central Florida a top business and vacation destination.
About Sudden Cardiac Arrest
Sudden cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death in the United States, killing more than 300,000 people yearly. Compact and portable, AEDs are designed to be used by laypeople with little or no training to deliver a shock that can save a victim’s life before paramedics arrive. According to the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association website (www.suddencardiacarrest.org), “It is essential that defibrillation be administered immediately following the cardiac arrest. If the heart does not return to a regular rhythm within 5-7 minutes, this fibrillation could be fatal.”
