McKinney | June 2025

Health care

BY ADAM DOE

The cardiac arrest survival rate in McKinney has risen from 10%-20% in 2023 to 30%- 40% in 2025 due to the implementation of a citywide debrillator network and improved dispatch times, McKinney reghter and paramedic Chris Muscle said. The city more than doubled the number of automated external debrillators, or AEDs, from roughly 80 in 2023 to about 200 as of May 2025, adding them to public spaces such as libraries as well as in police vehicles. The department has also cut their dispatch time for cardiac events in half. “We’re seeing people walk out of the hospital from cardiac arrest all the time,” Muscle said, noting that four patients survived sudden cardiac arrest in April. For every minute a cardiac arrest victim doesn’t receive CPR or debrillation, their chance of surviving drops 10%, Muscle said. Local cardiac arrest survival rates climb

In a nutshell

The AEDs are provided through the city’s part- nership with California-based medical company Avive. Emergency dispatch can activate the AED closest to the event, where the AED will sound an alert and show directions to the event. The device shows step-by-step instructions on how to use it, and does not require any medical training, Muscle said. The AEDs are available to anyone that witnesses a cardiac event, including bystanders. Police ocers use the new AEDs the most frequently, and are able to respond to cardiac events more quickly because they’re already on the road, Muscle said. Previously, McKinney had about 10 AEDs in police vehicles; now there are 85, Muscle said. “Their go-time is seconds. ... The dispatch re department guys have to get in the rig, gure out where they’re going and they still have good

Cardiac survival rates

*50%

Seattle

about 30%

National average

10%-20%

McKinney (2023)

30%-40%

McKinney (2025)

SOURCE: MCKINNEY FIRE DEPARTMENT COMMUNITY IMPACT

*NOTE: HIGHEST IN THE COUNTRY

times, but they’re just not going to beat police ocers,” he said. Four AEDs have been used since implementing the new network, though the re department expects that number to increase over time, Muscle said.

Also of note

citizens can register to get notied of cardiac events near them, so they can respond and provide CPR before emergency medical services can arrive. There were 115 registered GoodSam responders in McKinney as of May 21, re depart- ment ocials said. Muscle said that only 2% of cardiac arrest victims receive CPR before emergency medical services arrive, and EMTs have a much greater chance of success if the victim receives CPR before they arrive.

City ocials also streamlined how dispatch handles cardiac arrest calls. It was common for the city to take about two minutes to get a paramedic or police ocer headed to calls related to cardiac arrest events, but now dispatch times are routinely under 60 seconds, Muscle said. “We’ve had [an] over 50% reduction in our car- diac arrest dispatch time just by changing simple things,” Muscle said. In addition to the AED network and dispatch improvements, the city also implemented the GoodSam app, a system where CPR qualied

The automated external debrillators are connected to the cellular network and show instructions on how to use them.

ADAM DOE COMMUNITY IMPACT

What’s next?

on getting funding for the program, and Battalion Chief Ben Jones applied for a grant in late 2024 to purchase 160 AEDs. In McKinney, roughly 90% of cardiac arrests happen inside the home, where public AEDs are not accessible, Muscle said. The Neighborhood Heroes program could improve access to AEDs for cardiac arrests in a house or apartment. Department ocials expect an update on the grant in July.

McKinney ocials plan to launch a Neighborhood Heroes program in the coming months, where qualied citizens will get an Avive AED to keep in their car or home, with the intent of getting an AED within four minutes of any location in the city, in line with Avive’s 4 Minute Community initiative. The city is looking to distribute 450 AEDs for the program to reach the four minute goal. Currently, the McKinney Fire Department is working

“We’ve had great buy-in from city leadership, key stakeholders, hospital partners [and] businesses in the community. People want to be part of this program.” CHRIS MUSCLE, MCKINNEY FIREFIGHTER AND PARAMEDIC

COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM