FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE          Connecticut Department of Public Health

August 5, 2010                                       Contact: William Gerrish

                                                               (860) 509-7270

HARTFORD – The Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH), in collaboration with the American Heart Association, announces that New Fairfield has been designated a HEARTSafe Community.

“The HEARTSafe Communities program is designed to promote and recognize the efforts of local municipalities to provide improved cardiac response and care to its residents,” said DPH Commissioner Dr. J. Robert Galvin. “New Fairfield has demonstrated its commitment toward ensuring that its residents and visitors receive the early lifesaving response proven to increase the chances of survival for heart attack victims.”

DPH began the HEARTSafe Communities program to foster community environments that improve the survival odds for people suffering sudden cardiac events, such as cardiac arrests or heart attacks. The key to the program has been dubbed by the American Heart Association as the Chain of Survival. The Chain of Survival has four vital links:  early access to emergency care; early cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR); early defibrillation and early advanced care.

"Thanks to the efforts of the New Fairfield Health Department and Danbury Hospital Emergency Medical Services, New Fairfield is a safer place,” said John Hodge, First Selectman New Fairfield. “Whether you are a teenager playing on one of our sports fields or a guest in our Senior Center, you now have a better chance of survival should you have a heart attack because of the equipment purchases and training received by Town employees."

A HEARTSafe Community promotes and supports: CPR training in the community; public access to defibrillation through strategic placement of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) for use by public safety professionals and other trained community members; and early advanced care.

New Fairfield met the program requirements for public placement of AEDs, trained community residents, and equipped, staffed and trained emergency responders. In addition, New Fairfield is planning on continuing to provide community CPR training programs and expand the availability of AEDs in public locations.

Municipalities wishing to obtain designation as a HEARTSafe Community can download an application from the State Department of Public Health website at: www.ct.gov/dph/hdspp or contact Gary St. Amand, Health Program Associate, Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program at gary.stamand@ct.gov or 860-509-7581.

The Connecticut Department of Public Health is the state’s leader in public health policy and advocacy with a mission to protect and promote the health and safety of the people of our state.  To contact the department, please visit its website at www.ct.gov/dph or call (860) 509-7270.

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