UPMC and the City of Harrisburg Partner to Launch “Minutes Matter”

June 15, 2023

HARRISBURG, Pa. – In an emergency, minutes matter. A crisis can happen anytime, anywhere, and even the most basic education can turn a bystander into a life-saving neighbor, friend, or family member. Minutes Matter, a new partnership launched this week between UPMC in Central Pa. and the City of Harrisburg, provides community members access to basic emergency information and education about life-saving interventions.

“You don’t have to be a trained medical professional to make a difference in someone’s life,” said Lou Baverso, president, UPMC in Central Pa. “Learning simple, easy-to-understand emergency skills empowers bystanders to provide critical help during these life-threatening and highly stressful situations.”

UPMC’s Minutes Matter teaches community members how to respond to common, life-threatening emergencies related to opioid overdose, mental health crisis, cardiac arrest, and uncontrolled bleeding, through training in the use of an AED, Narcan and a tourniquet, as well as how to administer effective CPR.

“This training impacts everyone; the parent of a child whose heart suddenly stops, or someone who comes home to find their partner overdosed, or the person whose friend was just shot in front of them,” said Mayor Wanda Williams. “This is not the time to bury our heads and pretend like this stuff doesn’t happen. Thanks to this training, you can be the one to save their life. This does not have to be their time to go.”

From calling 911, to clearing a path for emergency responders and securing pets, even the most basic education can save lives and improve outcomes. With training, bystanders will recognize a problem more quickly and know what to do until first responders arrive.

“Why do minutes matter?” asked Barry Albertson, director of Operations and chief of Community LifeTeam EMS. “Only about 1 in 10 survive cardiac arrest. If bystanders give CPR or use an AED, as many as 5 in 10 could survive. Similarly, uncontrolled bleeding is the number one cause of preventable death from trauma. Any attempt to control bleeding improves a person’s chance of survival.”

For more information on how you can get involved with UPMC’s Minutes Matter, visit MinutesMatter.UPMC.com.