Barron is the Director of Emergency Management for Eagle County where he has served for the last 22 months. Barron brings together stakeholders across the county to build a safer, more resilient Eagle County. His previous experience includes positions in state and local emergency management, disaster recovery, fire & rescue response, social work, and service in the U.S. Peace Corps. He holds a Master of Science in Public Health Systems from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health with a focus on emergency management and humanitarian response. Barron is a recent recipient of the 2020 Eagle County Public Safety Award for Leadership.

Birch remarked, “There is nothing more important than empowering our friends, neighbors, and the entire community with the skills they need to save a life. It is an incredible privilege to serve on the Starting Hearts Board, and I am honored to be part of this amazing team. “

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The three Eagle County Rotary Clubs and Starting Hearts are co-hosting this first-ever virtual event to shine a light on our first responders and recognize them for the outstanding job they do. “The Rotary clubs are honored to recognize our well deserved first responders over the past years. We see this COVID virtual event as a great way to involve a large part of the community in this special recognition! Thanks to Starting Hearts for helping Rotary take this event to the next level.” stated Dwight Henninger, Vail Police Chief and Vail Rotary Club member.

The event will also be a fundraiser with proceeds going to Starting Hearts and the Eagle County Emergency Responders Fund (ECERF). “We work closely with our first responders to let them know we support them 24/7, like they support and protect our Community around the clock. We are excited to work with Starting Hearts to raise awareness and funding for our first responders,” said Bethe Wright, Executive Director for ECERF.

“It’s such an honor to partner with the three Eagle County Rotary Clubs this year to help celebrate such an important event. Our County’s EMS and First Responders do such amazing work each and every year to keep our communities safe, even at the risk of their own health and safety, and with COVID-19, at the risk of their families as well,” said Jackie Christiansen, Starting Hearts’ Director of Operations and Project Manager.

The public is invited to this free virtual event and we encourage all Eagle County residents and beyond to join us in cheering on our Eagle County’s finest first responders and frontline heroes. The event will feature awards, raffle prizes, a silent auction and entertainment from some of the county’s most popular musicians. Please register at www.startinghearts.org to receive the broadcast link.

About Rotary International

Rotary is a global network of 1.2 million neighbors, friends, leaders, and problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change – across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves. Our mission is to provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through our fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders.

About Eagle County Emergency Responder’s fund (ECERF)

ECERF is a nonprofit organization that helps responders during times of crisis by assisting with basic needs and ensures community support to those who sacrifice so much for their communities. Our mission is to raise and manage funds for the benefit of Eagle County Emergency Responders and their immediate families during times of hardship or crisis. We also provide scholarships to students wishing to enter into a career in emergency response. ECERF benefits emergency responders and their family members of all Eagle County law enforcement agencies, fire agencies, ambulance service agencies, Vail Mountain Rescue, Vail Public Safety Communications, and Vail Ski Patrol

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Each partner in the collaboration has a unique role to play.  The initiative began with a proposal by Eagle County Emergency Management followed with generous financial underwriting by the Eagle County Public Safety Council for the first 210 STP kits placed throughout Eagle County.

Starting Hearts, an Eagle County nonprofit, placed the trauma kits in public buildings, schools, parks, and other locations throughout the county, utilizing existing on-site defibrillator cabinets for ease of access.  Each cabinet has a decal on its face indicating the availability of a trauma kit inside.  In addition, Eagle County purchased an additional fifty kits for placement in county government facilities and vehicles.  “We are so pleased to be working in cooperation with our local safety agencies to provide tools necessary to respond in emergency situations,” said Alan Himelfarb, Starting Hearts’ Executive Director.  “The Stop the Bleed program is a natural extension of Starting Hearts’ efforts to address our mission to save more lives.”

The Stop the Bleed Kits provide necessary items to help stop the bleeding in an emergency situation before professional help arrives.  STB kits contain items such as a C-A-T® tourniquet, compressed gauze dressing, latex gloves, and more. These kits are integrated as part of an emergency response system.   “We owe it to our families and our community to know how to respond to life-threatening bleeding and have the necessary tools close at hand,” said Birch Barron, Eagle County Emergency Manager. “Nobody can predict when and where an accident might occur, but you can make a difference.”

To bring the initiative full circle, Vail Health is taking the lead in providing hands-on instruction to individuals, with currently twelve instructors that include physicians, physician assistants, registered nurses, and EMTs.  The instructors are registered with Stop the Bleed and adhere to the guidelines set by the ACS. The class includes an educational lecture and practical skills using training materials specially developed to teach bleeding control techniques. The instructor checks movements as participants practice three different bleeding control actions.

Several states in the U.S. have already enacted legislation to educate, inform, and empower citizens to become immediate responders in a bleeding emergency. In some states, this legislation includes training in schools and providing kits for schools and public places, and the Colorado Trauma Network is currently pursuing this in Colorado. The team at Vail Health will be engaged in this effort at a state and regional level and is committed to being a leader in Stop The Bleed education for Eagle County and beyond.

“In a mountain community like the Eagle River Valley, this training is vital, as uncontrolled bleeding after injury is the number one cause of preventable death from trauma,” said Elizabeth Kruger, MSN, Trauma Program Manager at Vail Health. “People here are extremely active in outdoor pursuits. From skiing to hunting, there is a higher percentage of lacerations than in other more urban settings, and this training can help save a life.”

About Eagle County Emergency Management

Emergency Management works to protect lives and property in Eagle County through effective emergency management practices and procedures. The office coordinates with local response agencies to prevent, prepare for, mitigate, respond to and recover from natural human-caused emergency situations.

About Eagle County Public Safety Council

The Mission of the Eagle County Public Safety Council is to work together to promote health and safety in Eagle County. This is done by fostering interagency relations, communication, cooperation and coordination through practice and planning, sharing lessons learned and maintaining standardized response activities.

About Starting Hearts

Starting Hearts is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Avon, CO.  Our mission is to save the lives of sudden cardiac arrest victims through free CPR and defibrillator education, widespread distribution of lifesaving defibrillators everywhere in public, activation of citizen first responders, and broad stakeholder cooperation in the communities we serve. Our organization is now expanding programs through affiliations across Colorado and encourages interested parties to contact us.

About Vail Health

Vail Health is a nonprofit community health care system with 12 locations across Eagle and Summit counties. Vail Health offers a 56-bed hospital, 24/7 emergency care, helipad, urgent care clinics, cancer care, breast centers, cardiovascular services, surgery, childbirth, physical therapy, primary and specialty care, and more. Locally operated and governed by a volunteer board of directors, Vail Health has committed $60 million to Eagle Valley Behavioral Health. For more information, visit www.vailhealth.org.

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Whether it’s making someone smile, helping a neighbor or stranger out, showing up for an issue or people we care about, or giving some of what we have to those who need our help, every act of generosity counts and everyone has something to give.

Tune in and learn how Starting Hearts is responding to the current pandemic environment

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This educational campaign is aimed at engaging the public in lifesaving techniques that can decrease the number one cause of death in the U.S., Sudden Cardiac Arrest. “I founded Starting Hearts in 2010 after suffering a Sudden Cardiac Arrest at the young age of 27. Since then, our mission to combat the rise of SCA fatalities has accomplished remarkable success as a result of placing lifesaving defibrillators throughout Colorado’s Eagle County. To date, I’m thrilled to say that we’ve achieved one of the highest per capita rates in the world and have trained thousands of people in CPR,” said Lynn Blake, founder of Starting Hearts. “We are honored to partner with Susan Ford Bales, SCA survivor and daughter of President Gerald R. Ford and Mrs. Betty Ford, as our national spokesperson for the launch of our Save More Lives Challenge. Susan joins our efforts to propel the national reach of this program and highlight the vital importance of SCA awareness. American Heart Month is the perfect time of year to spread the word about the many ways we can minimize this devastating and often fatal health event.”

With the help of SCA survivors and families impacted by the condition across the nation, Starting Hearts plans to achieve its ultimate goal of saving 100,000 lives per year by 2040 by engaging citizens in lifesaving CPR education and placing millions of additional defibrillators in public locations. The Save More Lives Challenge asks the public and those touched by SCA to donate to the challenge and participate in the campaign by practicing the CALL. PUSH. SHOCK. technique and using the hashtag #savemorelives. The challenge is also designed to ignite action for cardiac arrest measures from change-makers in government by raising awareness of Sudden Cardiac Arrest through online petitions that highlight programs and skills that could save lives.

“My life was saved by immediate bystander care and use of a nearby defibrillator in 2010,” said Susan Ford Bales, Honorary Chair and Ambassador of Starting Hearts. “As a survivor, I personally know how effective these lifesaving methods are and how we can vastly improve positive outcomes for so many. SCA impacts approximately 400,000 people annually and of that, an estimated 10 percent survive. I couldn’t be prouder to be a part of the Save More Lives Challenge and to help fuel legislative change in hopes we can start to conduct vital research to expand our knowledge of cardiac arrest causes and treatments.”

Those looking to join the Save More Lives Challenge can help by:

1. Watching Susan’s story of survival and the two-minute CALL. PUSH. SHOCK. training video at savemorelives.org
2. Practicing CPR with a household item (i.e. ball, pillow, plastic bottle, etc.) and share photos/videos using
   hashtag #savemorelives
3. Signing the Save More Lives Challenge petition to encourage the tracking of SCA in the U.S.
4. Donating by texting CPR to 50155 or visiting savemorelives.org
5. Being a Save More Lives Challenge Ambassador by asking family, friends, and networks to join the campaign

All funds raised from the Save More Lives Challenge will go towards implementing additional programs that help collect SCA data nationally to advance research studies as well as establishing even more effective CPR and defibrillation strategies. For more information on Starting Hearts, visit startinghearts.org. To get involved with the Save More Lives Challenge, visit savemorelives.org. To join the conversation on social media, follow @startinghearts on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

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“Vail Health has partnered with Starting Hearts to support the purchase and widespread distribution of defibrillators in Eagle County with the goal of saving lives,” explains Vail Health’s President and CEO Will Cook. “The new SaveStation technology is critical to our effort.”

SaveStation features an audible alarm, photo control, night lighting, back-up power, LED screen indicating cabinet status, and real-time reporting of the defibrillator’s ready status, connectivity, and temperature.  Remote monitoring is provided over a cellular network. The North American Occupational Health &  Safety recently awarded SaveStation as a “New Product of the Year.” The award program honors the outstanding product development achievements of health and safety manufacturers whose products are considered particularly noteworthy in their ability to improve workplace safety.

Town of Avon Mayor Sarah Smith Hymes stated, “The Town of Avon is proud to host the first SaveStation in Colorado. We are excited to see the SaveStation movement continue to grow so that more people can become aware of nearby defibrillators during instances of cardiac arrest.”

Carly Jackson, Director of Community Engagement for SaveStation stated, “We are thrilled to see the first outdoor SaveStation placed in Colorado, protecting everyone 24/7, 365 days a year. We hope this inspires other community leaders to sponsor the placement of futures SaveStations in this area, as in sudden cardiac arrest every second matters. Without quick access to a defibrillator, the chance of survival is only ten percent. We are so pleased to see Starting Hearts champion this amazing public safety initiative.”

To make SaveStation possible, the Town of Avon and Vail Health provided supporting grants to Starting Hearts. Alan Himelfarb, Executive Director of Starting Hearts stated, “This is an exciting and unique initiative that demonstrates how government, healthcare, and nonprofit can work together to insure the safety of our citizens and visitors. We are so pleased and honored to work with these colleagues and consummate professionals.”

For further information, please contact:

Alan Himelfarb
Executive Director
Starting Hearts
Tel: 970 763-5306, extension 702
Email: alan@startinghearts.org

Emily Tamberino
Director of Marketing
Vail Health
Tel: 970-569-7754
Email: emily.tamberino@vailhealth.org

Justin Hildreth
Town Engineer
Town of Avon
Tel: 970-748-4045
Email: jhildreth@avon.org

Carly Jackson
Director of Community Engagement
SaveStation
Tel: 705 716-5860
Email: carly@savestation.ca

About Starting Hearts

Starting Hearts is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Avon, CO. Its mission is to save the lives of sudden cardiac arrest victims through free CPR and defibrillator education, widespread distribution of lifesaving defibrillators everywhere in public, activation of citizen first responders, and broad stakeholder cooperation in the communities we serve. Since inception in 2010, Starting Hearts has educated more than 20,000 citizens in lifesaving and leadership skills, as well as increased the number of defibrillators in Eagle County, CO to more than 400, or one for every 130 citizens, one of the highest per capita rates in the nation. The organization is now expanding its programs through affiliations across Colorado and encourages interested parties to contact us. For more information, please visit www.startinghearts.org.

About Town of Avon

The Town of Avon is a home-rule municipality located in the stunning Rocky Mountains of Colorado along the scenic Eagle River. The town serves as a gateway to the world-class Beaver Creek Resort and is eight miles west of world-famous Vail.

About Vail Health

“Vail Health, formerly Vail Valley Medical Center, is a nonprofit community health care system with 12 locations across Eagle and Summit counties. Vail Health offers a 56-bed hospital, 24/7 emergency care, helipad, urgent care clinics, cancer care, breast centers, cardiovascular services, surgery, childbirth, physical therapy, primary care and more. Locally operated and governed by a volunteer board of directors, Vail Health has invested millions of dollars back into the community. For more information, visit www.vailhealth.org.

About SaveStation

SaveStations provide consistent, recognizable housing for all the leading AEDs on the market. The SaveStation Movement empowers the placement of SaveStations in accessible indoor and outdoor areas throughout our communities, standardizing the visual treatment and creating awareness that everyone can help save lives. When someone collapses from sudden cardiac arrest, a SaveStation is where anyone can go for quick access to a defibrillator to assist in reviving them. SaveStation was designed to unite the industry with one standard look for an AED cabinet in order to assist the public quickly identify where a defibrillator is in an emergency and to access its easy-to-use life-saving equipment.

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The 2nd Annual HEART + SOLE, a family fun event the Saturday before school begins, will return to the Ford Park Ball Fields on Saturday, August 17th from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. HEART + SOLE is presented by Starting Hearts, Town of Vail, and Vail Recreation District.

The event is free to the public and offers a variety of activities including:

• 3 member team scavenger hunt to win a Philips Heartstart Defibrillator and training
• 5K fun run with 8 time XTERRA world champion, Josiah Middaugh
• 1 mile family fun walk
• Free EKG screenings (36 available)
• Heart healthy lunch buffet
• CPR/DEFIB classes
• Health and wellness vendors
• Yoga
• Kids activities, including face painting and bounce house
• Live entertainment
• Prizes

Don’t forget to signup for the Heart + Sole Team Scavenger Hunt for your chance to win a Philips Heartstart Defibrillator

Download the Rules

Register for Team Scavenger Hunt

This is the last Saturday before school starts, so we encourage families to come out for lots of fun activities, all for free.  We gratefully acknowledge our wonderful supporting sponsors, Alpine Bank, Vail Daily, and Phillips Healthcare.

Visit the HEARTS + SOLE page or contact Paige Arnold (970 763-5306) for more information.

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On May 22, Governor Jared Polis signed House Bill HB19-1183 into law. The bill encourages public and private organizations to accept donations of public access defibrillators and opens the door to greatly increase adoption of these lifesaving devices in communities throughout Colorado. In addition, the bill includes seed money to establish a grant program within the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) to encourage financial donations for the purchase of defibrillators.

The bill was championed by Dylan Roberts, State Representative for House District 26, which encompasses Eagle and Routt counties. His counterpart in the State Senate, Senator Jeff Bridges, advanced the bill in\ the Senate chamber.

Starting Hearts, an Eagle County nonprofit dedicated to saving the lives of sudden cardiac arrest victims, played an active role in pursuit of this important legislation. Lynn Blake, founder and cardiac arrest survivor, testified in support of the bill before the House Health & Insurance Committee on March 6.  Thereafter, Alan Himelfarb, Starting Hearts’ Executive Director, testified in support of the bill before the Senate Health and Human Services on April 10. In a recent Facebook post, Representative Roberts said, “Thank you to Eagle County’s Starting Hearts for helping to make this happen”.

Blake said, “We are so thankful to Representative Roberts, Senator Bridges, and Governor Polis for this important legislation. A defibrillator saved my life, and placing more of these in public locations will save many precious lives. We are so pleased to have been part of the process and excited for what the future holds.”

Himelfarb said , “While lifesaving defibrillators are becoming more mainstream, larger organizations often remain reluctant to make placements. With generous donations in-hand from private donors, institutions, and grant makers, we still face obstacles for highly trafficked public locations, such as supermarkets and big box stores. This legislation will greatly enhance our ability to place devices in locations such as these.”

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Susan ford Bales with Starting Hearts founder Lynn Blake

Starting Hearts is honored to announce the addition of Susan Ford Bales to the nonprofit’s Board of Directors as its Honorary Chair.  “Susan has been a lifelong and passionate advocate for causes that have touched her personally and we are so very honored for her support and endorsement of our mission to save precious lives as our new Honorary Chair,” said Lynn Blake, founder of Starting Hearts and herself a sudden cardiac arrest survivor. Blake continued, “Susan’s story of survival and triumph is truly inspirational. While cardiac arrest is our nation’s biggest killer, it is virtually unknown to our citizenry. Susan’s participation will help us greatly to bring public attention, increase education, and place lifesaving defibrillators in communities across the country. We couldn’t be more excited to have such a dedicated and impactful advocate than Susan.” Susan was raised in Alexandria, Virginia and attended Holton Arms School and Mount Vernon College, where she studied photojournalism. Susan also studied with Ansel Adams and subsequently worked as a photojournalist for the Associated Press, Newsweek, Money Magazine, Ladies Home Journal, and others. She is the author of two novels set in the White House, “Double Exposure: A First Daughter Mystery” and its sequel, “Sharp Focus.”

During her high school years, Susan lived in the White House and served as official White House hostess following her mother’s surgery for breast cancer in 1974. Susan embraced Betty Ford’s extraordinary candor and courage in speaking publicly regarding Betty’s breast cancer. In 1984, Susan and her mother helped launch National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and Susan has served as national spokesperson for Breast Cancer Awareness. For over thirty years, Mrs. Ford and Susan have emphasized the importance of early detection in their countless speeches around the world, including to cancer and other medical organizations, women’s groups, and medical and healthcare forums.

Since the founding of the Betty Ford Center in 1982, Susan worked side by side with her mother on projects at the Center and focused her personal efforts on the impact of addiction on the family. Susan is particularly active with several programs at the Center, including medical student training, the Center’s unique children’s program, and special programs for women with addictive disease.  At the age of 52, Susan suffered a sudden cardiac arrest while exercising on an elliptical machine. She had no prior knowledge that she had heart disease. She says she was extremely lucky that while she was in the gym, a surgeon appeared and shocked her back to life with the use of an automated external defibrillator. She received a heart stent and pacemaker and made a full recovery, and has become a passionate advocate for improving heart health. She spoke recently at Starting Hearts’ special event, An Evening with Susan Ford Bales.

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Starting Hearts and the Beta Gamma Chapter of the Alpha Phi sorority at the University of Colorado Boulder have announced the completion of a Memo of Understanding to cooperate in the pursuit of a college affiliate program to address women’s heart health and sudden cardiac arrest on campus and in the community.

The agreement calls for the creation of a sustainable, long-term program to prepare citizens to confidently act as first responders to provide early care while professional medical personnel are enroute. Starting Hearts’ personnel will work with the sorority’s membership in education, defibrillator placement, and community outreach events. The partners will work to create a replicable program to be extended to other college campuses across the nation where Alpha Phi chapters reside.

“We are so excited to add the UC Boulder chapter of Alpha Phi as our third Alpha Phi affiliate. These dedicated and enthusiastic young women will contribute greatly to their mission to advance women’s heart health and our mission to save precious lives as they pursue their college careers,” stated Lynn Blake, founder of Starting Hearts and a cardiac arrest survivor. “Working together to empower these women with leadership and lifesaving skills, with the knowledge and confidence to save lives, and with participation in the communities where they live, study, and work, will have a profound impact on positive outcomes for many years to come.”

Pia Rinde, VP of Member Education stated, “The Beta Gamma Chapter of Alpha Phi is very excited to forge a new partnership with Starting Hearts to promote the heart health education and CPR and DEFIB training of the Colorado community. Our sisterhood strives to give back to those in the community who help support women’s heart health, as heart disease is the number one killer of women in the United States. We are grateful to assist Starting Hearts and are excited to see our own sisters become CPR certified in order to help combat long term damage caused by sudden cardiac arrest.”

Contact Info

Pia Rinde
Vice President of Programming and New Member Education
Alpha Phi Beta Gamma Chapter
704 488-0126
piri1539@colorado.edu

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