Carrollton honors volunteers after first confirmed 4‑minute community cardiac‑arrest save in Texas
Loading...
Summary
Carrollton presented certificates and challenge coins to volunteers and partner staff after a September cardiac‑arrest save by Avive/Avaya '4‑Minute Community' care‑team members; the program has responded to hundreds of alerts and increased AED‑equipped responses in 2025.
Carrollton officials recognized volunteers and partners on Monday after the city's Avive (4‑Minute Community) program recorded a successful cardiac‑arrest save in September.
Fire Chief Michael Thompson described the September 27 incident in which neighbors alerted by the Avive system arrived with AEDs, performed high‑quality CPR and helped stabilize a patient who was later discharged home without neurological deficits: "It takes a small army to save a life," Chief Thompson said as he introduced the volunteer care team and partner staff.
Avive/Avaya senior manager Julie Buckingham said the outcome reflected deliberate system design and training: "What happened that night in September wasn't luck. It was system design. It was leadership. It was training, and it was commitment," she said, adding that Carrollton was one of the first U.S. adopters of the program and the first confirmed state save in Texas.
City and hospital partners said the program’s metrics show strong volunteer engagement: since launch in March 2024, care‑team members have responded to 376 incidents and the share of incidents that included an AED‑equipped care team member rose from 57% in 2024 to over 70% in 2025. Staff presented certificates and challenge coins to the five volunteers directly involved in the September event and thanked partner telecommunicators, police, fire and hospital staff.
Why it matters: Early bystander access to AEDs and trained volunteers can significantly improve survival and neurological outcomes from out‑of‑hospital cardiac arrest; city leaders called the program a community‑driven model worth exporting regionally.
Next steps: The city will continue recruiting and training care‑team volunteers and coordinating with ENTTEC (dispatch) and hospital partners to expand the program.
