32 | F LO R I DA P H Y S I C I A N
The UF College of Medicine is taking charge
to enable Alachua County residents to make
a difference as soon as someone experiences
sudden cardiac arrest, which kills nearly
475,000 Americans each year. Working
alongside community first responders from the
Alachua County Sheriff ’s Office, Gainesville
Fire Rescue and Alachua County Fire Rescue,
the college’s task force promotes PulsePoint
Respond, a free smartphone app that was
integrated with Alachua County’s 911 system
in fall 2018 and alerts bystanders to a nearby
cardiac emergency and empowers them to help.
Torben Becker, MD, PhD, an assistant professor
in the department of emergency medicine
and an associate medical director for Alachua
County Fire Rescue, cares for critically ill
patients at UF Health Shands Hospital and
oversees the critical care division for local
EMS. Becker, along with UF anesthesiologist
Nikolaus Gravenstein, MD ’90, championed the
implementation of PulsePoint in the county,
which is funded by the UF department of
anesthesiology.
Becker shares his take on arming Alachua
County residents and health care providers with
this lifesaving tool.
Q: What can be achieved with the
PulsePoint Respond app?
A: We want to improve the survival rate
from cardiac arrest in Gainesville and the
surrounding area. Effective bystander CPR,
provided immediately after a cardiac arrest,
can double or triple a person’s chance of survival.
Having the PulsePoint app in our county could
have a big impact on the local community,
and that would allow us as health care
professionals to contribute to health
outcomes outside of the hospital.
Q: How would you describe your job?
A: Along with the other EMS medical directors,
I am involved in protocol development,
quality assurance, training, remediation and
general medical oversight of Alachua County
Fire Rescue’s EMS operations. Additionally,
I oversee a number of time-sensitive clinical
studies at UF Health aimed at improving the
outcomes from cardiac arrest, so I monitor
almost every event in the county using a mix of
paging algorithms, radio traffic and dispatched
data to be aware of any potential patient coming
to UF Health.
Q: What can all physicians do to increase the
survival rate of sudden cardiac arrest?
A: I think every physician, regardless of their
specialty, should know how to do CPR and
should sign up for PulsePoint Respond. Often,
physicians are leaders in their communities
and can educate their patients and the public
on the importance of bystander CPR and how
to get trained. Physicians should also share this
message with relatives of at-risk patients — a
family member performing bystander CPR and
using an AED is likely going to be the most
important factor in increasing the odds of a
good neurological outcome.
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SMARTPHONE APP
EMPOWERS COMMUNITY
Q&A with Torben Becker, MD, PhD
BY MEGAN KIMMEL
College News
The PulsePoint app notifies users to
respond to the need for CPR within 0.25
mile of their location and directs them
to the closest AED, so they can provide
assistance until first responders arrive.
Dispatchers can also use this information to
direct callers to a nearby AED. PulsePoint is
available in many communities across the
U.S. Visit pulsepoint.org to learn more.
/pulsepoint.org