Off-duty officer, app help woman suffering cardiac event

Knowledge, technology and a servant’s mindset combined to potentially save a life recently in Cape Girardeau.

Social media posts recount Cape Girardeau Police Department officer Jennifer Rubin’s response to a call for help through the city’s PulsePoint app.

According to a post from the department, Rubin was off duty and nearby when the alert came that a woman had suffered a cardiac event. She arrived at the scene before first-responders and began cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on the woman until medical personnel arrived.

The app sends alerts when a call for help comes to the 911 center. It also details where automated external defibrillators (AEDs) are located in the area.

“There are approximately 85 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the City of Cape Girardeau each year. PulsePoint is a great tool for alerting users of the app of a nearby incident with the goal of initiating early CPR and use of the AED. Those actions alone can increase the victim’s chances of surviving by nearly 45 percent,” Cape Girardeau Fire Department battalion chief Dustin Koerber said.

In a post of her own, Rubin encouraged residents to download the app.

“Pulse Point is for anybody to download who has been trained in CPR. It notifies you if CPR is needed closeby, and your phone is alerted immediately when dispatch creates the call,” she wrote. “That means, you have the potential to be notified simultaneously, or even PRIOR to first responders getting dispatched to the scene, and someone needing immediate life changing treatment can get it quicker. It also has capabilites to tell you where the closest AED is located.

“If you spend any time in Cape Girardeau and you’ve been through a CPR class, I highly encourage you to download this app. You never know when someone just around the corner needs your help.”