Latest news with #ProjectPulse
Business Standard
28-07-2025
- Health
- Business Standard
Project Pulse Launched to Equip Hyderabad Citizens with Life-Saving CPR Skills
India PR Distribution Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], July 28: Project Pulse, a citywide CPR awareness initiative, was launched by Suchitra Academy International School in collaboration with Star Hospitals and GVK EMRI EHS . The program aims to equip citizens aged 13 and above with the skills and confidence to act during medical emergencies. The launch event, held on July 12, brought together leading experts in medicine and emergency medicine whose commitment to community health added depth and urgency to the campaign. The event was graced by: * Dr. Gopichand Mannam, Cardiothoracic Surgeon and Director, Star Hospitals (Chief Guest) * Dr. G.V. Ramana Rao, Director, Emergency Medicine Learning Center and Research, GVK EMRI GHS (Guest of Honour) * Dr. Rahul Katta, Founder and CEO, Ayuh Emergency Services, and Group Head, Department of Emergency Medicine, Star Hospitals (Special Guest) Their collective insights reinforced the critical importance of widespread CPR education. Mr. K. Praveen Raju, Founder and Chief Mentor of Suchitra Academy International School, shared during the launch: "Project Pulse is a mission to equip every citizen with a life-saving skill. When emergencies strike, timely action can make the difference between life and loss. With this initiative, we want every home, workplace, and public space to have someone who knows what to do when it matters most." Project Pulse is being rolled out across Hyderabad, aiming to reach as many citizens as possible through sessions in residential communities, gyms, workplaces, and schools. The program consists of interactive one-hour awareness sessions, teaching participants how to identify cardiac emergencies and perform CPR until professional medical help arrives.
The Star
21-04-2025
- Business
- The Star
Amazon drivers double up as first responders
Inc equipped some delivery vans in Europe with defibrillators to see if drivers crisscrossing residential areas could speed up aid to heart-attack victims. The world's largest online retailer tested a programme, called Project Pulse, as a pilot in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in November 2023, and expanded it to London, Britain, and Bologna, Italy, according to documents seen by Bloomberg. A few dozen drivers in each city carried the devices, which are made by Koninklijke Philips NV. The Dutch company partnered with Amazon for the trial. Amazon confirmed that more than 100 contract drivers took part in the experiment, with several receiving alerts from citizen responder apps and arriving on site, where rescue services were already treating the victims. The pilot programme concluded after several months, and the company is 'evaluating the feedback and exploring additional opportunities for future programs,' said Amazon spokesperson Anneliese Hellwig-Schuster. More able to respond Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) are designed for ease of use. Pads attached to a victim's chest recommend whether to administer a shock to restart the person's heart. Nine out of 10 people live if they receive a jolt within a minute of a cardiac event, and chances of survival without CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) decrease by 10% every minute, according to the American Heart Association. While many offices and public spaces stock AEDs, more than 70% of cardiac arrests occur in residential areas, according to the American Red Cross. Amazon drivers who volunteer for the programme are trained on the devices as part of a basic first-aid course that includes CPR. They enroll in local citizen responder networks, according to the documents, which alert them to suspected cases of nearby cardiac arrest. In Paris, France, local first responder app 'Staying Alive' trained dozens of Amazon drivers last year (2024), according to its chief doctor, Paul Dardel. He hopes Amazon will fully roll out the programme in France soon, but was told that expanding in Britain was the priority for now. 'This type of initiative is always a plus. 'If someone has a cardiac arrest, the more people trained and defibrillators available, the better,' Dr Dardel said. 'And for Amazon, it valorises their image.' Ambitious plans The programme's most immediate objective would be to give everyone – not just Amazon customers – a better chance of surviving cardiac arrest, documents seen by Bloomberg show. Amazon vans tend to be closer than a professional first responder in many residential areas. A study by Philips included in the Amazon documents estimated that a fleet of 50 AED-equipped delivery vans on the roads of a north Seattle neighborhood in the United States would be able to respond more than a minute faster, on average, than emergency medical services. Some within Amazon also saw a public relations upside to the programme, according to the documents. The company's drivers have been blamed for congestion, pollution and causing accidents. The programme's backers also speculated that Project Pulse could improve driver retention. Amazon's legal team deemed the risk of drivers being sued low owing to European laws that typically shield bystanders who come to someone's aid. One internal document estimated it would cost less than US$17mil (RM75mil) in the first year of the programme to equip 15% of drivers at Amazon's 1,100-plus last-mile delivery depots around the world. That rollout, initially targeted for 2024, hasn't moved past the pilots tested in Europe. The company often sets overly ambitious goals in internal documents, some of which fall by the wayside owing to funding or employee constraints. Previous initiatives There's precedent for the Amazon programme. Philips partnered with Volvo in the Netherlands and aimed to deploy at least 25 AEDs, which were used 11 times in six months, including at least one life-saving intervention, according to Philips data cited by Amazon. The British Heart Foundation also tried equipping telecommunications field technicians with AEDs in 2021, likely saving one life. In France, Dr Dardel said he previously tried to partner with a taxi company, but that proved too complicated because cabs carry customers. Putting AEDs in delivery vehicles would be much simpler, he said, although the hardest part could be getting enough drivers to volunteer. Another potential hurdle: Amazon contract drivers have tight delivery schedules and demanding working conditions, fueling significant turnover. Philips sold its emergency care unit, including AED manufacturing, in January (2025) to US private investment firm Bridgefield Capital, subject to regulatory approval. However, a licensing agreement will allow the AEDs to retain the Philips brand globally for as long as 15 years. Philips has one plant in Bothell, Washington, US, not far from Amazon's Seattle headquarters. The company is a close partner of Amazon's retail and cloud-computing divisions. – By Benoit Berthelot and Anna Edgerton/Bloomberg News/Tribune News Service
Yahoo
13-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Could an Amazon driver could be the one who saves your life?
In a quiet transformation from merchandising giant to (also) healthcare giant, Amazon may be positioning its sprawling logistics network and growing medical footprint to potentially save lives, starting with your front door. According to Bloomberg, back in 2023, Amazon piloted a several months-long pilot program called Project Pulse, equipping delivery vans with defibrillators and training drivers in CPR. In cities like London, Amsterdam, and Bologna, more than 100 drivers participated, with several of them receiving alerts from citizen responder apps and arriving on site. (Rescue services were reportedly already treating the victims.) The company hasn't moved forward but it is 'evaluating the feedback and exploring additional opportunities for future programs,' an Amazon spokesperson tells Bloomberg. It'd likely a public relations win for the company. It would also be a way to expand Amazon's healthcare ambitions beyond One Medical, the primary care provider for which it shelled out $3.9 billion in early 2023. With rivals like Walgreens and Walmart retreating from primary care -- Walmart shuttered its primary healthcare business in April of last year, closing 51 locations, and Walgreens is being taken private again by Sycamore Partners for just $10 billion -- Amazon could be feeling increasingly confident it can do what the others couldn't: reshape healthcare delivery and bring more than just packages to customers' doorsteps.
Miami Herald
12-04-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Amazon turned drivers into first responders in Europe experiment
Inc. equipped some delivery vans in Europe with defibrillators to see if drivers crisscrossing residential areas could speed up aid to heart-attack victims. The world's largest online retailer tested a program, called Project Pulse, as a pilot in Amsterdam in November 2023, and expanded it to London and Bologna, Italy, according to documents seen by Bloomberg. A few dozen drivers in each city carried the devices, which are made by Koninklijke Philips NV. The Dutch company partnered with Amazon for the trial. Amazon confirmed that more than 100 contract drivers took part in the experiment, with several receiving alerts from citizen responder apps and arriving on site, where rescue services were already treating the victims. The pilot program concluded after several months, and the company is "evaluating the feedback and exploring additional opportunities for future programs," said Amazon spokesperson Anneliese Hellwig-Schuster. Automated external defibrillators are designed for ease of use. Pads attached to a victim's chest recommend whether to administer a shock to restart the person's heart. Nine out of 10 people live if they receive a jolt within a minute of a cardiac event, and chances of survival without CPR decrease by 10% every minute, according to the American Heart Association. While many offices and public spaces stock AEDs, more than 70% of cardiac arrests occur in residential areas, according to the American Red Cross. Amazon drivers who volunteer for the program are trained on the devices as part of a basic first-aid course that includes CPR. They enroll in local citizen responder networks, according to the documents, which alert them to suspected cases of nearby cardiac arrest. In Paris, local first responder app "Staying Alive" trained dozens of Amazon drivers last year, according to its chief doctor, Paul Dardel. He hopes Amazon will fully roll out the program in France soon, but was told that expanding in the UK was the priority for now. "This type of initiative is always a plus. If someone has a cardiac arrest, the more people trained and defibrillators available, the better," Dardel said. "And for Amazon, it valorizes their image." The program's most immediate objective would be to give everyone – not just Amazon customers – a better chance of surviving cardiac arrest, documents seen by Bloomberg show. Amazon vans tend to be closer than a professional first responder in many residential areas. A study by Philips included in the Amazon documents estimated that a fleet of 50 AED-equipped delivery vans on the roads of a north Seattle neighborhood would be able to respond more than a minute faster, on average, than emergency medical services. Some within Amazon also saw a public relations upside to the program, according to the documents. The company's drivers have been blamed for congestion, pollution and causing accidents. The program's backers also speculated that Project Pulse could improve driver retention. Amazon's legal team deemed the risk of drivers being sued low owing to European laws that typically shield bystanders who come to someone's aid. One internal document estimated it would cost less than $17 million in the first year of the program to equip 15% of drivers at Amazon's 1,100-plus last-mile delivery depots around the world. That rollout, initially targeted for 2024, hasn't moved past the pilots tested in Europe. The company often sets overly ambitious goals in internal documents, some of which fall by the wayside owing to funding or employee constraints. There's precedent for the Amazon program. Philips partnered with Volvo in the Netherlands and aimed to deploy at least 25 AEDs, which were used 11 times in 6 months, including at least one life-saving intervention, according to Philips data cited by Amazon. The British Heart Foundation also tried equipping telecommunications field technicians with AEDs in 2021, likely saving one life. In France, Dardel said he previously tried to partner with a taxi company, but that proved too complicated because cabs carry customers. Putting AED's in delivery vehicles would be much simpler, he said, although the hardest part could be getting enough drivers to volunteer. Another potential hurdle: Amazon contract drivers have tight delivery schedules and demanding working conditions, fueling significant turnover. Philips in January sold its emergency care unit, including AED manufacturing, to Bridgefield Capital, subject to regulatory approval, although a licensing agreement will allow the AEDs to retain the Philips brand globally for as long as 15 years. Philips has one plant in Bothell, Washington, not far from Amazon's Seattle headquarters. The company is a close partner of Amazon's retail and cloud-computing divisions. ____ -With assistance from Matt Day. Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Amazon trained Prime drivers to use defibrillators
Amazon has angled to become a major player in the healthcare industry for years, but the company may try extending its reach into daily life even further. According to recently revealed internal documents, Amazon conducted smallscale tests in Europe that involved training contracted Prime drivers on defibrillators to help in emergency response scenarios. According to an April 10 report from Bloomberg, the series of trials known as Project Pulse began in Amsterdam in November 2023, before expanding to London, Bologna, Italy, and elsewhere. Over 100 contract Prime delivery drivers volunteered, after which they took a basic first-aid course that included CPR training. Once completed, Amazon supplied them with automated external defibrillators (AEDs) manufactured by the Dutch company Koninklijke Philips are specifically designed to be used with minimal experience. The devices rely on external sensor pads that adhere to a patient's chest while the main component's speaker verbally directs an operator to administer a shock when needed. Although many businesses and public facilities store AEDs in the event of a medical emergency, the American Heart Association estimates only around 15 percent of heart attacks occur in these spaces. Meanwhile, the American Red Cross cites that over 70 percent of cardiac events take place in private homes. Around 90 percent of heart attack patients survive if defibrillation is administered within the first minute of the emergency. After completing training and receiving an AED, Prime drivers then downloaded citizen responder apps depending on their location. If alerted to a nearby suspected cardiac arrest emergency, Amazon's contract workers could then travel to the location and administer care if necessary. However, it's unclear how often Amazon was involved in emergency response situations, and the outcomes of those emergency responses. Prime vans outfitted with basic emergency medical equipment may make sense from a logistical standpoint, but it's also representative of Amazon's extension into just about every facet of daily life. Bloomberg also noted that a previous study by Koninklijke Philips included in Amazon's internal papers estimated that AED-stocked delivery vehicles deployed across north Seattle could respond to a crisis over a minute faster than emergency medical services. Another internal document concluded it would cost Amazon less than $17 million to equip 15 percent of drivers across the company's more than 1,100 last-mile delivery depots worldwide. Although Project Pulse has reportedly ended, similar trials were ongoing as recently as last year in Paris. Internal documents also indicate the company may try expanding the proactive emergency response measures into other regions and markets in the future.'This type of initiative is always a plus. If someone has a cardiac arrest, the more people trained and defibrillators available, the better,' said Paul Dardel, chief physician for the French first responder app Staying Alive. 'And for Amazon, it valorizes their image.'
