The City of Vienna and Puls, the Association for Combating Sudden Cardiac Death, together with A1 and Gewista, are taking the next step to further increase the chance of survival in the event of cardiac arrest. Because every second counts, specially installed DEFI telephone booths will, in the future, house built-in “layman defibrillators,” which even untrained bystanders can use in an emergency.
“Our common goal is to make Vienna THE heart-safest city,” explains Vienna Mayor Michael Ludwig. “Since 2013, numerous projects have been initiated and implemented to achieve this goal. Together we have declared war on cardiac death, because every single life counts.” The projects are scientifically supported by the MedUni Vienna.
There are now more than one thousand public defibrillators available in Vienna, which the rescue center can also access if necessary. All official offices in Vienna are equipped with defibrillators and, in addition to the rescue organizations, nearly all police and fire-fighting vehicles are equipped with both a defibrillator and appropriately trained staff. “With this new initiative, together with A1 and Gewista, we are again taking an important step to further increase access to defibrillators and thus to life-saving emergency measures,” Mayor Ludwig said.
“The secret of successful resuscitation is simple. The time that elapses before appropriate resuscitation measures are taken is critical,” said Puls President Harry Kopietz. “When cardiac arrest occurs, the probability of survival per-minute drops by 10 percent. After about three minutes, the first irreparable damage occurs in the brain. First aid measures are simple. According to our slogan, Call - Press - Shock, first call the emergency telephone number 144, then press quickly and hard in the middle of the chest, and then quickly deploy and shock, using one of the more than 1,000 defibrillators available citywide in Vienna.”
Ten of these life-saving DEFI-telephone booths will be built in the first phase. A1 CEO Marcus Grausam, who welcomes the initiative, said, “We are happy to provide our telephone booths as DEFI-locations. Defibrillators and telephone booths complement each other very well, especially in emergencies. Along with the defibrillator, the telephone booth plays an important role in the rescue chain. In addition, you can of course still call the emergency numbers free of charge from any telephone booth today. We wish the project every success.”
In addition to the telephone and the DEFIS, there are also Gewista Digital City Light bus shelters on which campaigns for DEFI-use and heart health are displayed. This screen is used to refinance the location and the costs are borne pro bono by Gewista. “We are both delighted and proud,” said Gewista CEO, Franz Solta. “The installation of eleven DEFI-columns financed by Gewista enables us to make another valuable public contribution to heart-health safety in Vienna with the construction of the new Gewista / A1-DEFI-telephone booth. These are digital advertising media with built-in DEFIS, which are available 24/7 at inner-city locations. Like the existing Gewista public DEFI-columns, each new Gewista / A1-DEFI-telephone booth is equipped with a nearby sign guidance system co-developed by Gewista, the City of Vienna and the Puls association, which measures and displays the distance to the respective DEFI-location in life-saving seconds. Gewista, which also bears the costs of the installation and maintenance, has already installed public DEFIS signage systems at six Viennese markets. This is the first public guidance system for defibrillators that has been implemented in a city and conveys the clear message that, when it comes to saving lives with a defibrillator, every second counts!”
The telephone booths will be accessible at all times, and a separate sign system will show the helper or first responder the quickest route to the location of a life-saving defibrillator. The signage system has already proven itself and has been in use in six Viennese markets since 2019. The completion of the ten locations is planned by mid-June of 2020.
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Mail: christian.brandt-dimaio@gewista.at
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