Posted by By Julie Anderson February 21, 2026 on Mar 9th 2026

Omaha-area emergency responders say app that alerts CPR-trained bystanders can save lives

When someone suffers cardiac arrest outside a hospital, each minute that passes without CPR reduces that person's chance of survival by 10%, the American Heart Association says.

On Friday, firefighters, the heart association and other partners in a new three-county collaborative in Douglas, Sarpy and Washington Counties launched a pair of free mobile phone apps, which go under the name PulsePoint, intended to get those willing to start CPR on the scene of cardiac emergencies quicker and show them where to find the nearest Automated External Defibrillator, or AED.

Chris Shives, executive director of the heart association in Nebraska, said the organization's goal is to double or triple the survival rate for cardiac arrests suffered outside the hospital.

And that means calling on bystanders, who can buy patients the minutes it takes even the fastest emergency responders to arrive.

But in Omaha, only 45% of bystanders act in such emergencies. In Lincoln, which adopted the PulsePoint program about a decade ago, bystanders are ready to respond in some 70% of cases.

"Today, I think we'll start that change in our community," Shives said.

Chad Nixon, assistant chief with Bennington Fire and Rescue, said PulsePoint is one tool first responders hope to use to improve cardiac arrest survival.

Dave Keber, a paramedic with the Omaha Fire Department, said area responders have been seeking to bring PulsePoint to Omaha for about a decade. But those conversations ramped up about a year ago.

Pete Soby, an Omaha videographer and photographer, said a quick bystander response just eight days short of a year ago saved him after he suffered a cardiac arrest at his gym.

At 51, the former collegiate swimmer was in what he considered the best shape of his life. He had just finished a CrossFit competition. He exchanged fist bumps and high fives. Then he collapsed.

Someone saw him on the ground and five people responded, starting CPR and locating an AED. Another went out to the street and directed medics to the building. His wife and daughter were at the gym, and his daughter called 911.

"I'm standing here today, eight days away from celebrating the first-year anniversary," Soby said.

Now he wants to make sure others get that same chance, which means making sure more bystanders know what to do or trigger the system to signal someone who does. He was fortunate, he said. Many of his fellow gym members know CPR and a number are health care providers.

Keber said PulsePoint now is integrated into local 911 systems. When someone calls 911 and dispatchers determine CPR may be needed, they initiate a PulsePoint alert.

Fire departments throughout Douglas, Sarpy, and Washington Counties respond to between 300 and 400 cardiac arrest incidents a year.

The alert signals people in the vicinity who have downloaded the red app, PulsePoint Respond, and directs them to the location of the victim and to the location of the nearest AEDs.

Eric Koeppe, president and CEO of the National Safety Council's Nebraska Chapter, said citizen responders will be alerted to emergencies in public spaces.

But registered health care professionals and first responders will get additional alerts that notify them of emergencies in both public places and in homes. He estimated that about 750 local responders had the red PulsePoint Respond app available as of Thursday.

The companion yellow app, PulsePoint AED, allows citizens to photograph and upload the location of AEDs in the community. That information then is shared with local authorities to verify, creating a registry of the devices, which allows both emergency responders and citizens using the PulsePoint Respond app to find them in a cardiac emergency.

Only a small percentage of AEDs in the area currently are registered. He and Keber urged business owners, building managers and others to register their devices. The portable, user-friendly medical devices can analyze a patient's heart rhythm and, if necessary, deliver an electrical shock to help the heart re-establish an effective rhythm.

A cardiac arrest differs from a heart attack, which involves a blockage to vessels supplying blood and nutrients to the heart, said Dr. Eric Ernest, an emergency medicine physician with Nebraska Medicine.

If a heart attack goes on long enough, however, it can turn into a cardiac arrest, an electrical issue in which the heart stops beating properly, said Ernest, who serves as the EMS medical director for a number of local agencies and for the State of Nebraska.

Keber said users who download PulsePoint Respond should open the app and make sure they're following the Greater Omaha Tri-County Region. The apps are available on the App Store and Google Play

"There is so much potential for growth," Keber said. "This is just the beginning ... But to make it work, we've got to take it out and use it. And that's where all of you come in."