The Peyton Walker Foundation (PWF) and Emergency Health Services Federation (EHSF) will announce the launch of a new, innovative 4-Minute City (4MC) Program on Wednesday, February 9, at 11 a.m. at Lower Allen Township Municipal Building. PWF and EHSF are teaming up with Avive Solutions, Inc., Cumberland County 911 and other Public Safety Agencies across the county, along with UPMC Pinnacle Foundation to deploy a revolutionary, next-generation Automated External Defibrillator (AED)*** throughout the region with connectivity capabilities to 9-1-1 Call Centers, public safety agencies, and downstream healthcare providers in an effort to improve survivability for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) emergencies.
(***NOTE: This device is not yet FDA approved or commercially available for sale in the U.S.)
MEDIA INVITED TO PRESS CONFERENCE ANDCOLLABORATIVE ANNOUNCEMENT/DEMOS:
WHEN: Wednesday, February 9, 2022
11:00AM / Press Conference followed by CPR & New Avive AED Demo
WHERE: Lower Allen Township Municipal Building
2233 Gettysburg Pike, Camp Hill, PA
WHO: Julie Walker, Executive Director, The Peyton Walker Foundation
Tony Deaven, EMS Captain, Lower Allen Township EMS
Michael Reihart, DO, Regional EMS Medical Director,
Emergency Health Services Federation (EHSF)
Megan Ruby, Director, System Operations, EHSF
Sameer Jafri, CEO,Avive Solutions, Inc.
Harley Ward, City of Harrisburg Police Officer
Steering Committee Members: Avive Solutions, The Peyton Walker Foundation, Cumberland County 911, Cumberland Goodwill EMS, Emergency Health Services Federation, Lower Allen Township EMS, UPMC, UPMC Pinnacle Foundation.
WHAT: First-of-its kind 4 Minute City Program to be launched in Cumberland County, Pa. This potentially life-saving initiative will strategically deploy next-generation AEDs throughout the community, in addition to a first of its kind OHCA response solution in an effort to get AEDs to the scene of a nearby cardiac arrest emergency, sooner than first responders, in hopes of saving countless lives a year.
“This initiative will have a direct impact on increasing the survival rates of cardiac arrest – sparing many families from a lifetime of heartache. Deploying several hundred of these lifesaving AEDs and educating our community on how to perform CPR can certainly help lead to lives being saved. I’m incredibly proud to be part of this initiative and am so thankful for all of the partners who are supporting this. ‘Four Minute City’ is now officially part of my daughter’s legacy,” says Julie Walker, executive director of The Peyton Walker Foundation and mother of Peyton, whose young life was cut short due to sudden cardiac arrest.
OTHER FEBRUARY HEART MONTH AWARENESS & COMMUNITY EVENTS:
- February 10, 3-5 p.m. – Cornerstone Coffeehouse, Camp Hill is featuring CPR Demonstrations on this date. Also, a “Peyton’s Promise” white chocolate/raspberry mocha specialty drink with $1 per drink going to PWF and special Heart Month awareness coffees sleeves will be offered all month.
- February 12, 9-11 a.m. – Public CPR/AED Certification Class at Chambers Hill United Methodist Church, Harrisburg. Registration at www. PeytonWalker.org.
- Good Brotha’s Book Café, Harrisburg & Cracked Pot Café, Mechanicsburg will feature PWF Awareness coffee sleeves all month while supplies last.
- PWF is also hosting other group CPR/AED demonstrations throughout the Region. Please check social media for upcoming details.
- Also, March 3rd & March 5th, PWF will participate at PIAA District 3 Basketball Playoffs at The Giant Center in Hershey offering CPR/AED Demos, interactive games and more. PWF will discuss the 4 Minute City initiative, as well as educate students, parents and athletes about Sudden Cardiac Arrest during halftime of the games through interactive games, videos & more. They will donate several AEDs to area schools during playoffs.
Nonprofit organizations and sports teams can request a free AED by contacting the Foundation. For more information on Peyton’s Law or on the Foundation, go to PeytonWalker.org.
ABOUT THE PEYTON WALKER FOUNDATION:
Peyton Walker was a 19-year-old Mechanicsburg native, 2012 Trinity High School graduate, and a sophomore at King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania who was pursuing a career as a Physician Assistant. when she suffered a Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) that took her young and vibrant life on November 2, 2013. Afterwards, her family started researching Sudden Cardiac Arrest, and found that kids are dying every day from undiagnosed heart issues. THE PEYTON WALKER FOUNDATION was established in honor of Peyton’s memory and her dreams of working in the medical profession to help and care for others. The Foundation’s mission is to increase awareness and survival rates of Sudden Cardiac Arrest through education, screening and training. Events, screenings and important updates can be found at PeytonWalker.org.
To date, they are proud to have donated 250 Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs), screened over 3,500 students with 400 children referred to physicians leading to potential life-saving medical attention for many students. CPR training is offered to every STUDENT who attends their heart screenings allowing students and their families a chance to perform hands-on CPR and gain a better understanding of what an AED is and how to use it. The Foundation also has provided over $90,000 in educational scholarships and hundreds of other FREE community CPR and AED Trainings.
The Peyton Walker Foundation, under the leadership of Walker, has worked with UPMC Pinnacle, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Duke University, Penn State Children’s Hospital, WellSpan, Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health, Geisinger Health, PIAA, Big 33, PA Scholastic Football Coaches Association and other agencies in an effort to save young lives. Advocates, parents and medical professional recognize more can be done to protect youth to reduce the occurrence of SCA in children.
FACTS ABOUT SUDDEN CARDIAC ARREST (SCA):
- SCA is one of the leading causes of death in the U.S. (over 600,000 annually).
- SCA is the #1 killer of student athletes in the U.S. and the leading cause of death on school campuses.
- Every hour, every day, a student dies from SCA. The majority of those deaths are attributed to detectable and treatable heart conditions that went undiagnosed due to the limited scope of standard sports physicals & well-child check-ups.
- Survival rates of SCA are less than 10%.
- Some warning symptoms that can lead to SCA include: dizziness, fainting, shortness of breath, chest pain, lightheadedness, and passing out. The first symptom of SCA is often sudden death. However, the use of AEDs and CPR increase the chances of surviving an SCA event.