May 25th, 2023
Announcement comes on National Stop the Bleed - Save a Life Day
Spanish Language Version (PDF)
Monroe County Executive Adam Bello today announced plans to install 60 new “Life Saving Station” boxes in high-traffic areas of County-owned public facilities. The goal is provide training and the tools to address life-threatening emergencies before EMS professional help arrives. Each Life Saving Station box contains:
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AED - Automated External Defibrillator – adult and pediatric capable
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Naloxone – the life-saving opioid overdose medication
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Bleeding Control Trauma Kit –a tourniquet, gloves, gauze, EMS shears and a survival blanket
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Hand sanitizer
“This is about saving lives, when every second counts,” said Monroe County Executive Adam Bello. “These Life Saving Stations will provide a single source of vital equipment and medicine, enabling county employees and bystanders to help during a cardiac, overdose or bleeding emergency. Thank you to the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services for funding these Life Saving Stations and to the Monroe County Department of Public Safety for leading this effort.”
“We know that bystanders witness about one third of all cardiac arrests. But being a ‘bystander’ does not mean we have to stand by in the event of a life-threatening emergency such as a cardiac arrest or an opioid overdose,” said Monroe County Commissioner of Public Health Dr. Michael Mendoza. “With the right tools, training and support, bystanders can be lifesavers. I commend Monroe County Executive Adam Bello and UR Kessler Trauma Center for leading this initiative, and encourage everyone in our community to learn how to use these Life Saving Stations.”
“These accessible and readily identified Life Saving Stations can assist with providing immediate care and assistance to a person suffering from a medical crisis when seconds count. These resources will provide the public an opportunity to aide another person and ultimately save lives,” said Richard V. Tantalo, Monroe County Public Safety Director.
“We have seen instances time and time again in which a bystander was able to provide emergency medical care and keep someone alive until first responders came on scene,” said Mark L. Gestring, M.D., chief of the Division of Acute Care Surgery and professor of Surgery, Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Rochester Medical Center. “We applaud our county leaders for taking this important step and for helping to make this life-saving equipment available to the public when it is needed the most.”
Easy-to-follow instructions are printed on the medical kits and 9-1-1 dispatchers will be able to direct callers to the nearest box location and provide instructions on how to use the equipment.
The boxes will be installed in county facilities and public buildings including the DMVs, ROC Airport, Innovative Field, Seneca Park Zoo, Monroe Community College, county golf courses, downtown libraries, Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial and the Riverside Convention Center. The installation of the Life Saving Boxes will be completed by fall.
