An extraordinary initiative, an extraordinary goal: saving the lives of five people in Austria every day!
Vienna (OTS) – Hitradio Ö3 and the Austrian Red Cross start the new year with the best New Year’s resolution for the entire country: save the lives of five people in Austria every day. Because there are emergencies where every minute counts – for example in the event of respiratory arrest. Helpers are often nearby, but don’t know anything about the dramatic situation. This is where the “Team Austria Life Saver” initiative comes in: Registered volunteer first aiders are alerted via an app and guided directly to the scene of the emergency. This means you can start giving chest compressions before the professional rescue workers arrive – thereby gaining life-saving minutes. Anyone over 18 who has completed a first aid course in the past few years can register as a Team Austria lifesaver. Register now on the Ö3 homepage!
In Austria, around 10,000 people suffer respiratory arrest outside of a hospital every year, and only one in ten survives. The reason: CPR is rarely started in time. This will change with “Team Austria Lifesaver”, the additional innovative link in the rescue chain. If an emergency call is made, in parallel with the professional rescue workers, registered Team Austria lifesavers who are nearby are alerted via the app and guided directly to the emergency location. This means that first aiders can begin chest compressions after an average of just three to four minutes. This saves life-saving minutes before the professional emergency services arrive. The density of the network of registered lifesavers across the country is crucial to the success of the project.
Red Cross Federal Rescue Commander Gerry Foitik: “The good news is: Each and every one of us can save lives in the event of a respiratory arrest. Press 30 times, breathe twice – and start as quickly as possible. Because when it comes to the heartbeat, every moment counts. That’s why it’s now up to us to build a close-knit network of life savers. After all, saving lives is teamwork – and as this team grows larger, we will also be able to give five people a second chance every day. People with their own stories, families, friends. Register now and save a life! Can there be a better New Year’s resolution?”
In order to reach as many people as possible across the country, Hitradio Ö3 is inviting people to become Team Austria’s lifesavers on air and online from January 1st. The target group is anyone who lives in Austria, has taken a first aid course in the past few years and has the confidence to walk up to a few hundred meters to a person with respiratory and circulatory arrest and give them a chest compressions for a few minutes make. If the network of lifesavers is dense enough, it can be possible to save five people’s lives every day.
“As a public radio station, we at Ö3 are aware of our responsibility and not only provide music, entertainment, service and information, but also continually make a contribution to good cooperation. That’s why we’re starting the year with an extraordinary project to which we can all contribute something, but which can also be life-saving for us or our relatives. We invite the whole country to become Team Austria’s lifesaver, to help actively and thus to send a clear signal of solidarity and mindfulness in the country,” said Ö3 broadcaster boss Michael Pauser.
The “Team Austria Life Saver” initiative has already been tested in pilot projects in several federal states and is showing great effectiveness. Now Hitradio Ö3 and the Red Cross are inviting the entire country to consolidate the network of rapid help and thus save lives together every single day.
All information about “Team Austria Life Saver” and how to register: on the Ö3 homepage (oe3.orf.at).
Questions & Contact:
Hitradio Ö3 public relations
Bernadette Aigner
01 87878/19121
bernadette.aigner@orf.at