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Heart Ready city
Mayor Karl Dean receives the "heart Ready City" plaque from Gail Miles of the AHA as Chief Stephen Halford looks on.
Mayor Karl Dean receives the "heart Ready City" plaque from Gail Miles of the AHA as Chief Stephen Halford looks on.

Nashville became a Heart Ready City in 2008

 

 

 I am proud of the many people and organizations that have contributed to increasing our survival rates in Nashville and Davidson County, which have gone from 6% to the current 13%.  Placing AED’s (Automatic External Defibrillators) in public buildings and places where people gather as well as learning how to do CPR will result in the safest communities possible.
--Nashville Fire Chief Stephen Halford




The Nashville Fire Department, with the support of Mayor Karl Dean, has received the first-ever “Heart Ready” award in Tennessee. The American Heart Association, Greater Southeast Affiliate and the Emergency Cardiovascular Care Programs Department acknowledged Department for it work over the past year to implement rapid response as well as educate the public about first aid and the use of AEDs to save lives.

 

The award was presented May 20, 2008 in Nashville Mayor, Karl Dean’s offices. Survival rates from Sudden Cardiac Arrest have risen to 13 percent, up from 6 percent in 2004. The award credits Chief Stephen Halford’s efforts to drive CPR education and the placement of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) by the Fire Department and the Nashville Public Access Defibrillation (PAD) Program. 

"I am continuously looking for ways to do improve the most important job there is, saving lives," Halford said. "Providing the tools and training to our citizens will enable treatment immediately while we are responding to a scene and thus increase the chance of survival for people suffering sudden cardiac arrest."

 

The Nashville Fire Department is the founder of the original Nashville PAD Program and has been a major supporter since its creation.  The Nashville PAD Program has at the heart of its mission saving lives in Nashville through the increased use of AEDs and empowering people to use them through CPR/AED training.

Sudden Cardiac Arrest will strike 250,000 Americans this year leaving less than 5 percent of the victims to survive and the efforts by the Office of the Mayor and the Nashville Fire Department are working towards making Nashville a safer and Heart Ready place to live.
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