JAMESTOWN, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – News broke earlier this year of Jamestown becoming the sixth community in North Dakota to receive Cardiac Ready Designation.

Cardiac Ready Jamestown Committee Chair Logan Caldwell says the designation is part of the Cardiac Ready Communities project, which is a partnership of the North Dakota Department of Health’s Division of Emergency Medical Systems and the American Heart Association through the North Dakota Cardiac System of Care.

The local committee has worked for the last year to achieve the designation. It is comprised of several agencies including Jamestown Area Ambulance, Emergency Training Associates, Jamestown Regional Medical Center, Central Valley Health, Twin River Activity Center, Stutsman County 911 Dispatch, and The American Heart Association.

Caldwell says there are numerous items the committee will be looking to focus on in order to maintain the designation. One of those is providing and upkeeping a list of every AED in the community.

The committee will also look to track blood pressures in the community, increase the percentage of residents trained in CPR, and increase the use of the 9-1-1 system when cardiac or stroke symptoms appear.

Caldwell says the committee will continue to improve areas of need to maintain the designation. He says residents can be proactive and take steps to be educated on cardiac arrest and stroke, learning their blood pressure levels, and learning CPR.

Jamestown joins Mayville, Valley City, New Rockford, Rugby and Powers Lake as Cardiac Ready communities in North Dakota. 22 other communities are currently working to achieve that status.

For more information on this or CPR course availability, contact Dee Wanzek at 701-251-2273.

Listen to a full interview on the Cardiac Ready Communities project with Logan Caldwell below: