I had the pleasure of running a couple of very brief social media workshops at respond 2014 a few days ago. This was the first national conference for community first responders and got off to a great start with more than 300 people.
Community first response was an alien idea to me until a fee months ago. I expected a rather amateurish bunch of enthusiastic civilians but was pleasantly surprised to find a highly motivated and enthusiastic group of volunteers who were well trained under a national structure. The main aim is of course to provide high quality CPR and early defibrillation as soon as possible in the event of cardiac arrest. Given the often rural nature of Ireland the concept of first responders is valuable.
If you’re in Ireland and interested in more about CFR then check out the conference web page, the hashtag and a few of the local groups.
If you’re here because of the social media workshop looking for more tips then I suggest you check out this video (aimed at prehospital professionals) and this post.
Congrats to all for a great conference.
Hi Andy
Just wondering – do these groups use that smartphone-GPS tool that allows community responders within a certain geographical distance of an arrest to be notified, thus aiding with CPR efforts?
Saw it once, I think from N America – seems a powerful use of tech.
Hi tim. PHECC is creating an app at the minute that will do this. The pulse point app is the north american one. It’s really slick.
Hi Andy, I’m a bit late commenting on this post at this stage but thought it worthwhile nonetheless. I was at your second workshop at the Respond 2014 conference, thanks for sharing your knowledge with us.
I am representing Ratoath CFR group in Co. Meath. Working on our Facebook page at present to try and promote the group in the community a bit more and try and recruit new members. I have quite an interest in technology, social media etc.
Anyway, just saying hello and thanks again for the workshop.
What an amazing conference that day.
All the best.
RH
Hi Ronan. Thanks form the feedback. All the best. Andy