Honolulu Mayor Blangiardi Proclaims Pamela Foster Day: Honoring Two Decades of CPR and AED Advocacy, With Airport Program Credited With 86 Saves
Mayor Rick Blangiardi of the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii, recognized the day as "Pamela Foster Day" in honor of registered nurse Pamela Foster's extraordinary commitment to improving survival rates from sudden cardiac arrest through CPR education, AED accessibility and community preparedness. "Every second matters when someone experiences sudden cardiac arrest," said Mayor Blangiardi. "Pamela Foster has dedicated her career to making sure more people in Hawai'i are prepared to take action, and her work has helped put lifesaving knowledge and equipment into communities across our state."
Foster began her career as a registered nurse before founding the AED Institute of America in 2004. Under her leadership, the institute has implemented hundreds of Public Access Defibrillation Programs, placed more than 10,000 AEDs throughout local communities, and provided CPR education each year to tens of thousands of people. In 2006, she implemented Operation Stay'N Alive, an AED program through the Hawai'i Department of Transportation Airports Division that expanded to 13 airports on six islands and offers free CPR and AED training. "Since implementing the AED program at our local airports, more than 86 cardiac arrest patients have been saved," Foster said. "That includes a cardiac arrest survivor from this morning at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport. A Good Samaritan placed an AED on the patient who was not breathing and had no pulse, shocked her, and brought her back to life."
Foster also founded the Hawai'i Heart Foundation in 2010, a nonprofit that has provided CPR training at no cost to more than 200,000 elementary school students, and her efforts expanded through a partnership with the Hawai'i Department of Education to train students and staff. "Pamela's work demonstrates the power of education and community preparedness," said Jim Ireland, Director of the Honolulu Emergency Services Department. "By learning CPR and how to use an AED, you may save a life someday." At the proclamation ceremony, Honolulu resident Brian Lee spoke about how an AED saved his life in January 2024 at Honolulu Hale, when he stopped breathing during a City Council meeting. October is recognized as National Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month. (Compiled from a City and County of Honolulu news release distributed via EIN Presswire)
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 檀香山市政厅 Honolulu Hale 正面实景。图片来源：Wikimedia Commons 文件 Honolulu-Hale-widefront.JPG，Joel Bradshaw 摄，Public domain（公有领域） 授权
