App Aims to Save Lives in Anderson County

The Anderson County Sheriff's Office is using a new high-tech tool that aims to turn ordinary bystanders into life-saving heroes. 

Dispatchers in the county will now start pushing information to a new smartphone app called PulsePoint, which is an app that alerts CPR-trained bystanders about a nearby emergency where they may be able to help.

"You know the difference early CPR and defibrillation can make in a sudden cardiac arrest event. Fifty-seven percent of U.S. adults say they've had CPR training, and most would be willing to use CPR or an AED to help save a stranger's life. Yet only 11 percent say they've used CPR in an actual emergency. That's a number we can increase together," PulsePoint says on its website.

The company also makes an app to help people locate automated external defibrillators (AEDs) nearby during cardiac emergencies. 

It allows users to report the locations of AEDs whenever they see them, and that information is then shared with emergency dispatchers, who can share their location with people trained in CPR and off-duty firefighters, nurses and other professionals. 

The apps are available for free in the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.