North Augusta Launches State’s First 4-Minute AED Response Program, Seeks Volunteers

North Augusta rolled out South Carolina's first 4-Minute Community Program. A grant from the Municipal Association of South Carolina made it possible. The city wants volunteers now.

The program gets AED responders to cardiac emergencies in four minutes or less, which doctors say can mean the difference between life and death when someone's heart stops beating.

The Municipal Association of South Carolina provided money to kickstart things. That grant pays for equipment and trains volunteers who'll rush to emergencies across town.

The AED CARE team works like a web of trained citizens who can reach patients before ambulances arrive. Volunteers carry automated external defibrillators and go when dispatchers send them to heart emergencies near their location.

No other South Carolina city has tried this before. Programs like it have popped up in other states with mixed results.

When someone's heart stops, survival odds plummet with every tick of the clock. Research shows that quick CPR and shocking the heart in those first six minutes can dramatically improve the chances of making it.

The city will recruit people who live and work in different parts of town, spreading out coverage so every neighborhood has someone nearby when seconds count.

Anyone interested can reach out to the city for details about joining. Training starts once enough people sign up.