Authorizing City Council's Committee on Public Safety to conduct Public Hearings to examine ways to increase the number of people who have been trained in Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation.

WHEREAS, M

ore than 300,000 Americans die each year of cardiac arrest, when the heart suddenly stops. The Heart Association estimates that more than 95 percent of cardiac-arrest victims die before they get to the hospital; and

WHEREAS,

According to the Heart Association, about 75 percent to 80 percent of all cardiac arrests outside a hospital occur at home, and effective CPR (Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation) can double a victim's survival odds; and

WHEREAS,

When a bystander performs CPR, the victim's chance of surviving a sudden cardiac arrest is tripled. Quick action is the key. The faster a bystander starts giving CPR the more likely the victim is to survive; and

WHEREAS, Studies showed that the chance of survival for people who suffered a sudden cardiac arrest fell by 10 percent for every minute following the attack that CPR was not administered. After about four minutes, permanent brain damage begins to occur; and

WHEREAS, Cities such as Seattle, measure how often someone already is performing CPR when emergency medical crews arrive. Over time, Seattle has learned that more victims of cardiac arrest survive if a bystander intervenes and performs CPR; and

WHEREAS, Since 1971, the City has trained 650,000 ordinary citizens – from taxi drivers to restaurant employees people. As a result, Seattle now has one of the highest "bystander CPR" rates in the nation — 44% (that is bystanders are already performing CPR when rescue crews arrive 44% of the time). That means that nearly half of all cardiac arrest victims get CPR from a co-worker, a loved one or a stranger in the minutes between collapse and when emergency medical crews arrive; and

WHEREAS, According to a report by

USA Today

, Philadelphia has a 10% bystander rate and only 4% of its population has been trained in CPR; now therefore

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That the Committee on Public Safety is authorized to hold hearings to examine and develop plans to increase the number of the City’s population who are trained in CPR and consequently increasing its bystander rate.

End