Heart Safe Accreditation

Become Heart Safe Businesses, Schools and Parks

Community Heart Watch’s Heart Safe accreditation is designed to prepare staff, students and community members to respond appropriately to cardiac arrest wherever it strikes — including in the workplace, classroom and public settings. This designation is granted to organizations who adopt a specific set of criteria, which includes:

CPR and AED training for all personnel
Automated external defibrillator (AED) accessible on site
3-4 cardiac emergency response drills completed per year
Annual cardiac arrest awareness activity

Criteria varies slightly between schools, businesses and parks. Our community outreach coordinators and community educators will help you navigate these requirements. To learn more about starting the process, you may contact Teri Watson at 740-687-6929.

View the Heart Safe Toolkit

Heart Safe Impact

Every month, more than 10 people in the community suffer a cardiac arrest.
With the vast majority of these occurring outside of the hospital setting, increasing awareness,
education and accessibility to AEDs and training can significantly improve survival.

Heart Safe Parks

“The placement of AEDs in local parks is important to enhance the lifesaving ability of our community at locations that are a hub of activity during the spring, summer and fall,” said Kasey Farmer, assistant chief of the Basil Joint Fire District. “The ability for the community to improve the chances of saving a life and beginning these measures early during a cardiac event will prove to be invaluable when the situation arises.”

Heart Safe Schools

“We are incredibly honored to have obtained this accreditation, as it means that over 90% of our students and 100% of our faculty and staff have passed their CPR and AED training,” said Dr. Sally Lozada, principal of Fisher Catholic High School. “Not only does this help all who walk through our doors at Fisher Catholic, but these individuals are now equipped with the knowledge to save lives in our community.”

Heart Safe Businesses

“The response to become a Heart Safe Business has been immense in our area,” said community outreach coordinator Teri Watson. “It’s rewarding to empower staff members with the confidence to take action and save the life of a teammate or customer. It also means they can carry that knowledge forward to make a difference at home or in the community.”

Heart Safe Organizations

Thank you to the following organizations who have taken the proactive step to protect hearts and lives.

Businesses

Fairfield County Board of Developmental Disabilities
Fairfield County Job and Family Services
Fairfield Federal Savings & Loan
Lancaster-Fairfield County Community Action Agency
Lancaster-Fairfield County Chamber of Commerce

Schools

Berne Union Local Schools
Fisher Catholic High School
Lancaster City Schools

Parks

Alt Park
Rising Park
Smeck Park
Stebelton Park at Rock Mill
Buckeye Lake State Park
Somerset Memorial Park
Mambourg Park

Interested in Learning More?

To learn more about becoming a Heart Safe Business, contact FMC’s community outreach coordinator at 740-687-6929, or view our Heart Safe Business Accreditation Toolkit and Heart Safe School Accreditation Toolkit.

Local Parks Receive Heart Safe Park Designation from Community Heart Watch

Three local parks – Rising Park in Lancaster, Alt Park in Baltimore and Buckeye Lake State Park – recently earned the designation of a “Heart Safe Park” from Community Heart Watch.

Fisher Catholic High School Accredited as Heart Safe

In December 2022, Fisher Catholic High School in Lancaster received a three-year Heart Safe School Accreditation from Community Heart Watch.

Show Your Accreditation Seals for Businesses and Schools

Businesses and schools awarded Heart Safe accreditation by Community Heart Watch and compliant with maintenance requirements are permitted to download and display the appropriate seal on all affiliated webpages and materials. Thank you for making our community Heart Safe!

Heart Safe Accreditation