Helmsley Gift Will Enhance Cardiac Readiness

The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services has received a gift of $3.2 million from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to implement a three-year Cardiac Ready Communities initiative in Montana. Valley County Health Department Director Connie Boreson encourages area residents to attend a preparedness meeting in Glasgow on Feb. 17 to learn more about the program and possibilities for local participation.

In collaboration with stakeholders including EMS services, hospitals, community leaders and the public, this Montana Cardiac Ready Communities project will enhance many essential elements of the cardiac arrest chain of survival: a public education campaign on heart attack signs and symptoms and the need to activate the 9-1-1 system; citizen hands-only CPR; public access defibrillation programs; training on high performance CPR for ambulance services and hospitals; and a system-wide data tool for quality measurement and improvement. Targeted funding will be provided to deploy automatic compression devices to EMS services and hospital to aid in the delivery of quality CPR and cardiac care.

The rural nature of Montana often prevents even the best of emergency service systems from arriving at rural scenes in time to help cardiac arrest patients. Hence, the development of Cardiac Ready Communities around the deployment of automatic compression devices offers a unique opportunity to improve several elements of a system of cardiac care.

Program manager Janet Trethewey will be in Glasgow on Wednesday, Feb. 17, in the Community Room at the Valley County Health Department at 1 p.m. to explain the Cardiac Ready Communities program and the ways we can prepare for cardiac evens and emergencies. For more information, call (406) 228-6261.