The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), will provide nearly $105,000 to pilot programs to boost cardiac survival rates in rural areas, HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced today. Overall, HRSA will be administering approximately $300,000 to support rural Emergency Medical Services activities.

The demonstrations will explore ways of establishing community partnerships to buy and maintain automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and to train personnel in using them. AEDs allow trained, non-professional rescuers to shock the heart of cardiac arrest victims back into normal rhythm. Speed is crucial in responding to cardiac arrest, since a victim's chance of survival drops 10 percent for every minute that passes before the heart is returned to a normal rhythm.

"Because rural hospitals are often far from the scene of emergencies, it's crucial that we get AEDs in the hands of emergency medical technicians, police officers, and others who are among the first to respond to a person in distress," Secretary Thompson said.

An estimated 250,000 Americans die from sudden cardiac arrest each year. "These grants will help us determine how we can cut those numbers," the Secretary added.

The grants will be managed by a state's Office of Rural Health, in collaboration with State Emergency Medical Services officials. HRSA awarded pilot programs to Maine, Wisconsin and Vermont. The community partnerships they organize will include fire and rescue departments, police, community hospitals and training facilities, local entities concerned about cardiac arrest survival rates, and others.

The grants are awarded and administered by the HRSA's Office of Rural Health Policy. For more information about the demonstration program, contact HRSA's Office of Rural Health Policy at (301) 443-0835.