STARTING HEARTS INC
Save More Lives
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Sudden cardiac arrest is our nation's largest killer with more than 400,000 events each year. We are experiencing an increase in events due to the growing opioid epidemic. Of those cases, only 8% will survive, a rate that has not improved in thirty years. This need not be the case. We have the knowledge, hardware, and software to greatly increase the number of survivors; and we believe the save rate can increase to as much as 70% in the next two decades. With free education, widespread placement of public access defibrillators, citizen activation through leading-edge mobile applications, and support from community stakeholders, a model community can be created in which many more lives are saved. Starting Hearts has developed this fully-rationalized program and is working to replicate in other communities. We believe it is possible to save 100,000 lives per year once the nation adopts this approach to saving lives.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Call.Push.Shock.
A free, fun, and interactive 45 minute program to teach the fundamentals of CPR and defibrillator use.
Nearest DEFIB
Widespread placement of defibrillators in public and private locations
Neighbor Saver
Utilizing a free downloadable app, we have intregrated this program with our county 911 dispatch system to notify citizen first responders when a sudden cardiac arrest takes place within a half mile radius of their location.
Where we work
Awards
Hero Award 2015
American Red Cross
Safety Agency Recognition 2019
Rotary Award
Resourcefullness Award 2018
Eidy Baily
Affiliations & memberships
American Heart Association, Inc. 2016
External reviews
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Evaluation documents
Download evaluation reportsNumber of program graduates
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Caregivers, Students
Related Program
Call.Push.Shock.
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
We train citizens in leadership and lifesaving skills when a victim of sudden cardiac arrest requires immediate care. This metric includes all students who take our Call.Push.Shock. class.
Number of groups/individuals benefiting from tools/resources/education materials provided
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth, Adults, Domestic workers
Related Program
Call.Push.Shock.
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
We serve schools, government, agencies, and businesses with our training. We receive many requests for custom classes for organizations and will go out of our way to deliver as requested.
Number of leadership positions held by organization staff in community initiatives
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Starting Hearts leadership plays an active role in charitable activities within our community.
Number of briefings or presentations held
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Starting Hearts plays an active role in engaging stakeholders within the community. Presentations are now made annually to city councils, county commissioners, businesses, and the public
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
With more than 1,000 SCA events every day in our nation, now more than 400,000 per year, with a survival rate of only 8%, we are dedicated to reducing this numbers through education, lifesaving defibrillator placements in the public domain, and the creation of thousands of citizen first responders. We believe it is possible within the next generation to reduce deaths significantly. We plan to take the experience gained here at home to develop programs on a national basis and greatly improve positive outcomes across the nation.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We have developed a fun and interactive 45 minute course to train citizens of every age to become first responders and help victims to survive SCA. We believe, by training an entire generation, we can significantly improve outcomes. Through this community outreach, we will give citizens the confidence to respond when needed, understanding the Good Samaritan Act protects them from personal liability when acting in good faith to save a life. In addition, we will continue to increase the availability of DEFIBs in the public, making them ubiquitous throughout the nation. We will make readily available a free, downloadable mobile app to quickly locate DEFIBs when needed; and further, register trained citizens on that app to receive reverse-911 information when a SCA occurs, allowing for immediate response when needed.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
We have twelve years of experience, stemming from our founder's sudden cardiac arrest and complete recovery due to a co-worker's immediate attention with CPR and the use of an DEFIB to restart her heart. Further, our Executive Director lost his father at the age of 57 from SCA; and as such, our leadership has a passion and dedication to help others and their loved ones survive this terrible killer. With a cadre of dedicated volunteers, wonderful support by local government, statewide and national foundations and donors, we have the requisite skills, knowledge, experience, and capital to carry out our mission to save more lives.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
We are at the beginning of a revolution in the nation to prepare citizens and communities with training, medical devices, and faster response to SCAs. Our work in Eagle County provides a template for the nation, and we plan to take our experiences here to affiliates around the nation in the next several years. We expect our efforts and others like us will result in significantly reduced death rates in the coming decade, wherein SCA survivability rates will rise from 8% to as high as 70% through a capable citizenry, lifesaving defibrillator infrastructure, and faster overall response when needed.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
STARTING HEARTS INC
Board of directorsas of 03/18/2024
Alan Himelfarb
Starting Hearts, Inc.
Term: 2020 - 2025
Mike McGee
Janet Newman
PhD
Tom Califf
Medical Director
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
The organization's co-leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data