It was a day full of magic, a day that will remain with those who were present forever. None of the participants in the room would have believed that the tragic incident which took place that day, four years ago, would remain with them forever. A group of long-time-friends, all of whom were couples set out on a day of hiking on the Israel Trail outside of Jerusalem. “It was a beautiful day, we hiked, we chatted and we laughed. We were near the end of the hike, a few hundred meters from the spot where we parked the cars, when one of our friends collapsed a lay flat on his back. We were certain that he was just playing with us,” recalls Benny Tzviran (aged 60) who participated in the hike.
But the friend was not joking and the hairs on Tzviran’s neck stood up while he was reciting the rest of the story. “It turns out that our friend was in the midst of having a full blown heart attack. One of the other hikers was a doctor and he, together with our tour guide attempted to perform CPR on our friend. The rest of our friends called an ambulance. We tried to explain to them our exact location, but because we were on a hike it was much more difficult than we imagined.”
The ambulance managed to arrive after half an hour of searching for the group, and the doctor in the field had no choice but to pronounce the death of his friend in the forest.
“I will carry this tragedy with me for my entire life,” Tzviran explained. Tzviran works as the CEO and owner of ESC BAZ a company that develops and manufactures Video Observation & Surveillance systems for the military and homeland security markets. Before Tzviran was able to fully recover from the shock of the tragic event, he heard of another friend who also needed emergency CPR while he was on a training run with his bicycle. “Thankfully, that story had a happy ending. This time Emergency medics from United Hatzalah managed to reach my friend in time. They performed CPR in the field and saved his life. He was admitted to hospital where he received catheterization and his life was saved.”
At the party that the survivor threw, together with his wife, United Hatzalah held a fundraiser to raise money for portable defibrillators that United Hatzalah volunteers would carry around with them and be able to save more lives in the field. According to Tzviran it was a two fold opportunity that set the stage for what became United Hatzalah’s life-saving CPR app.
“The event gave me the opportunity to meet the President and Founder of United Hatzalah, Eli Beer, and it additionally gave me inspiration for the idea to create the app. I told Eli about the traumatic incident that occurred to me and my friends, and I voluntarily offered to use my expertise to create a phone app that would help save lives in the community. The purpose of the application is to instruct the users on how to properly perform CPR while simultaneously connecting them to the medical command center of United Hatzalah which will then send out volunteer EMS personnel including EMTs, paramedics and Doctors as needed, as well as a Magen David Adom Ambulance,” Tzviran explained.
The EMS organization United Hatzalah together with ESC BAZ created the application a few months back and have called it EZ-CPR. The app is available for both Android and Apple users and is offered completely free and does not contain any ads. Receiving help from the medical command center of United Hatzalah as well as the arrival and help of United Hatzalah volunteers is also offered by the organization free of charge.
The use of the app is simply and clearly marked. One tap allows the user to receive detailed instructions with regards to how to properly perform CPR in real time while a second button contacts the command center which sends out volunteer responders who arrive in minutes. The command center will also stay on the line and talk the user through performing CPR for the victim until emergency responders are able to arrive at the scene. The command center responder has the ability to locate the precise location of the incident via the application as well as the telephone number of the person who’s using the phone. If there is need the command center will send volunteers to the location as well as an ambulance that will take the injured or sick person to the hospital. In spots where there is no cell phone reception users of the app can still receive detailed instructions about how to properly give CPR including where precisely to place one’s hands. The application will also monitor the rate at which the compressions are being administered.
In addition to providing assistance regarding CPR, the app has an added feature that provides detailed instructions regarding how to use a defibrillator should one be located in the area. One can also practice how to give CPR by using the application during one’s free time.
The Founder of United Hatzalah Eli Beer explained that “the EZ CPR application helps cut down the initial response time for providing first aid in the case of an emergency. Users can provide the individual who has lost consciousness with first aid and lifesaving CPR from the first minutes that they arrive on the scene. The application also cuts down on the call time to emergency services and lets the EMS teams as well as ambulance teams know exactly where the victim is. Research has shown that it is possible to save most heart attack victims if the victim receives CPR within the first four minutes of having the attack. With each passing minute in which CPR is not performed the life expectancy of the sick person goes down by 10 percent. We believe that the introduction of the EZ CPR application will allow sick people to receive CPR treatment within seconds of passing out and thereby save many of their lives.”
Tviran explained that the process was not an easy one. “It was a difficult process, one in which we invested a lot of time and effort into testing the best and easiest way to pass on the information in the simplest way possible. We wanted to enable the people who will need to use it in the field to have the quickest response without getting confused due to the stress of the situation. We put a lot of effort into emphasizing the use and necessity of CPR. Time is costly, and it is in short supply. The more people who know what to do in an emergency situation the more lives will be saved it is as simple as that.”
While there are a lot of CPR apps out there, only EZ CPR will connect the user with a live medical command center representative who can provide assistance in real time so that the user has support from wherever they are.
To download the application visit the following site: http://www.ez-cpr.com
