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UPMC Pinnacle Foundation and Peyton Walker Foundation unveil the 4-Minute City in Cumberland County

In Honor of American Heart Month, the UPMC Pinnacle Foundation and The Peyton Walker Foundation are Proud to Announce The 4-Minute City in Cumberland County

Creating a Network of Connected AED Units & Culture of Response To Decrease Time-to-Defibrillation & Save Lives

HARRISBURG, Pa. (Feb. 9, 2021) – The UPMC Pinnacle Foundation is proud to partner with The Peyton Walker Foundation to spearhead a new initiative in Cumberland County, The 4-Minute City. A product of Avive Solutions, The 4-Minute City (https://avive.life/4-minute-city/) aims to increase survival rates of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) through data-driven widespread deployment of over 300 *Avive Connect Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) across the county, specifically in areas where this life-saving technology is needed the most.

In collaboration with Emergency Health Services, Cumberland County 911, Penn State Life Lion, and other EMS Agencies, this will be just the 6th 4-Minute City in the United States. Serving as a proof of concept for all other counties that are part of the eight-county Regional EMS Council. The AEDs, which will be provided through funding and donor support, have the potential to save countless lives every year. According to the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation, there were more than 356,000 OHCA's in the U.S. in 2020 — nearly 90% of them fatal. Nearly 40% of them were witnessed by a layperson who may not have had a life-saving AED available.

The 4-Minute City will reduce time to defibrillation well before first responders arrive on the scene – and ultimately within 4 minutes of a call being made to 911. It will provide seamless integration of Avive Connect AEDs with 911 centers and share invaluable data with public safety and healthcare providers to improve care. Education and training campaigns from the UPMC Pinnacle Foundation, The Peyton Walker Foundation, and connected agencies will help develop a culture of response to empower citizens with the knowledge and tools to step up and help save a life when it counts the most. "Our partnership with The Peyton Walker Foundation, aimed at engaging the community in efforts to increase overall sudden cardiac awareness and training, is something we take pride in and value tremendously," said UPMC Pinnacle Foundation Major Gift Officer Matt Connors. "Together, we will continue to work diligently towards making the Central Pa. community a much safer and enjoyable place to live."

February is Heart Month, a time for all of us to focus on our cardiovascular health, so there’s no better time to make a gift in support of this groundbreaking initiative. A gift of just $500 will sponsor an AED and one year of service, but gifts of all sizes will allow us to turn Cumberland County into the 6th community to implement this concept. A heart attack can happen at any time, but by improving response times for out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, we will save lives.

“This initiative will have a direct impact on increasing the survival rates of cardiac arrest - sparing many families from a lifetime of heartache. Deploying several hundred of these lifesaving AEDs and educating our community on how to perform CPR will lead to lives being saved. I’m incredibly proud to be part of this initiative and am so thankful for all of the partners who are supporting this. The 4-Minute City is now officially part of my daughter’s legacy,” said Julie Walker, executive director of The Peyton Walker Foundation and mother of Peyton, whose young life was cut short due to sudden cardiac arrest. "There will be at least one family – one mom, one dad, sister, or brother – who will NOT lose their child or sibling because one of these AEDs is going to save their loved one. That’s enough for me. That’s why I do this. One."

Representatives from the UPMC Pinnacle Foundation and The Peyton Walker Foundation will be holding a press conference to formally announce the launch of The 4-Minute City on Wednesday, February 9, 2022, at 11 a.m. at the Emergency Health Services Federation in New Cumberland, Pa. To learn more about The 4-Minute City and how you can sponsor your very own AED in Cumberland County, contact Matthew Connors at connorsmj@upmc.edu or visit UPMCPinnacleFoundation.org/the-4-minute-city. To learn more about how the UPMC Pinnacle Foundation supports Life-Changing Generosity in your community, visit UPMCPinnacleFoundation.org

*This device is not yet FDA approved or commercially available for sale in the U.S.