The BID Hopes to Save Lives with Automated External Defibrillators

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Last month, we told you that the Cheney Cardiovascular Institute at George Washington University donated automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, to the DowntownDC BID. Well, seven AEDs arrived last week! A huge “thank you” to the Institute for a partnership that seeks to save the lives of Downtown workers, visitors and residents who might experience sudden cardiac arrest, the nation’s leading cause of death.

The donation was made to the BID’s Publically Accessible AED Program and was contingent on our Safety/Hospitality and Maintenance employees (SAMs) taking a comprehensive cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, course and learning how to use the AEDs. The donated devices will be placed in the SAM headquarters building at 1229 New York Avenue, in SAM information kiosks located near busy pedestrian areas, and in SAM maintenance and supervisor vehicles that patrol the DowntownDC BID area.

“This very unique gift addresses an urgent safety and health issue that can have dire consequences for anyone suffering from an electrical malfunction of the heart,” said Richard H. Bradley, the BID’s executive director. “Our goal is to have an AED unit available within one block of any public space in the BID.”

Keep an eye on our activities. The BID wants to make all AED locations in Downtown available over a map-based mobile device application to allow BID staff and the general public to easily find them during an emergency. We’ve identified more than 130 AED units on the lobby levels of buildings in the Downtown and plan to develop a waiver granting open access to units during business or operating hours and obtain permission to include the AED locations in a mobile app. The BID is also coordinating with the District of Columbia Fire and EMS Department to track and report AED usage.