SAN DIEGO–To increase survival rates of sudden cardiac arrest victims and to make automated external defibrillators (AEDs) as accessible as fire extinguishers, the City of San Diego announced a new, exclusive partnership with AED Brands, LLC to support San Diego Fire Rescue’s San Diego Project Heart Beat (SDPHB) Program.
“Public safety is a shared responsibility. AEDs empower ordinary people to do extraordinary things. Forty thousand lives annually are saved due to AEDs. The City of San Diego’s partnership with AED Brands, LLC, will continue to support our efforts to make San Diego a heart safe region,” stated Councilmember Chris Cate, member of the City’s Public Safety & Livable Neighborhoods Committee.
For more than 19 years the City of San Diego and SDPHB has partnered with AED suppliers to save lives, by placing AEDs in public and private areas including healthcare, educational and city facilities as well as businesses and tourist attractions. To date, SDPHB has distributed over 9,500 AEDs throughout the San Diego region.
“This partnership is a very important one for our region,” said San Diego Fire-Rescue Chief Colin Stowell. “Local organizations and companies that purchase AEDs empower communities with the right tool to help someone who experiences cardiac arrest. This partnership, in conjunction with the training our SD Project Heart Beat team provides, has had such a tremendous impact – 192 lives saved in San Diego by AEDs – and we expect that number will continue to grow.”
Since 2004 AED Brands has been a nationally recognized leader in implementing compliant and effective life-saving programs.
“We are excited to partner with San Diego Project Heart Beat to improve the survival rate of cardiac arrest in San Diego. We are committed to educate and empower lay responders to save lives,” said Keith Hildebrandt, AED Brands President/Founder.
As part of the collaboration, AED Brands will provide an annual partnership fee of $100,000 to the City for the next three years, with two one-year renewal options. In addition, they will provide discounted pricing for AEDs purchased by the City of San Diego.
