The City of McKinney has introduced a new phone application called GoodSAM that will connect CPR-trained civilians and first responders to those suffering from cardiac arrest in the area.

GoodSAM, a shortened form of Good Samaritan, provides the opportunity for victims of cardiac arrest to receive emergency care even before EMTs arrive on the scene.  It is already being used in San Antonio and other cities around the world, according to WFAA.

While dispatchers can contact trained civilians and other first responders about the incident, the McKinney Fire Department makes it clear that the trained civilians are not required to provide help if they decide against it.

Ethan Knowles of the McKinney Fire Department explained how this application will connect people who “have a passion for helping others and serving” to those in need.

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“Our objective here is to get high-quality CPR on somebody in cardiac arrest as soon as possible. They can get there quickly to provide that first hands-on-the-chest before 9-1-1 gets there,” he said, per WFAA.

Knowles explained that GoodSAM will notify those enrolled on the application if they are within a “quarter mile to a half mile” of the incident that is taking place, with that responder then having “the opportunity to accept or reject” the request for help, according to WFAA.

Jeff Womack, a local first aid instructor and a volunteer already enrolled on the app, said that he believes this new application will be incredibly beneficial for the community because “Some immediate care is better than no care at all,” per WFAA.

Womack further explained that a person’s chances of survival following a cardiac arrest drop by roughly 10% for every minute that the heart has stopped, making immediate care the most important focus during the emergency.

McKinney officials have stated that the goal for GoodSAM is for at least 1,000 first responders and trained civilians to join the application within the first three months of its operation in the city. 

Reaching this number would provide a large enough group to help many people across the city, though more people joining the application will further improve the response time.