American Red Cross App Puts Emergency Care Instruction in the Palm of Your Hand

Red Cross Teams Up with Dr. Oz and Sharecare to Launch Lifesaving App

Just in time for the busy summer season, a new smartphone app launched today by the American Red Cross, Dr. Mehmet Oz and the medical website Sharecare makes it even easier for the average person to help in an emergency.

The ‘S.O.S by the American Red Cross’ app is a free app that provides real-time emergency care instructions and an expansive resource guide for emergency care information in order to help save lives. The app is available only for Android mobile devices.

Once activated, app users are guided through a victim assessment and receive step-by-step video narration and follow-along demonstrations by Dr. Oz. More than 30 protocols for the most common emergency care situations were adapted for the Android app. 3-D animations, provided by Visible Productions, Inc., are included for the more complex protocols, specifically Hands-Only CPR and Choking along with an audio and visual counter for real-time CPR compressions.

The Resource Guide covers more than 50 common emergency care situations with easy to understand instructions for treating seizures to broken bones.

“The beginning of summer, with its outdoor activities and extra travel, is the perfect time to launch this app,” said Dr. David Markenson, chair, American Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council. “This collaboration has produced a lifesaving tool for those who have never taken Red Cross training and an ‘onsite coach’ for those who have. This new app is an excellent complement to the knowledge and skills learned in Red Cross courses,” Markenson added.

“People need to see themselves as first responders to emergency situations in their home and workplace. Knowing CPR will save the lives of your loved ones, colleagues and even random strangers. This collaboration meets people where they are at – on their smartphones – and uses the best modern teaching tools to provide CPR education. As a heart surgeon, I see the American Red Cross and Sharecare’s efforts as game changing and invaluable. The life you save will probably be someone you love,” said Dr. Oz.

"Sharecare is proud to have assembled the necessary organizations to build and distribute this mission critical app and is committed to working with prestigious partners like the American Red Cross to develop information and applications across multiple platforms to help people live their healthiest life," said Jeff Arnold, chairman and chief architect of Sharecare.

In addition to the emergency protocols and resource guide, the S.O.S. app features 9-1-1 dialing that auto-launches a map with location information, while on the call with the emergency dispatcher.

To get the app, Android users can go to https://market.android.com/ and download the ‘S.O.S by the American Red Cross’ app for free. Contact your local Red Cross or visit redcross.org for information on Red Cross training offerings.

About Sharecare:
Launched in 2010 and based in Atlanta, GA, Sharecare's mission is to greatly simplify the search for high-quality healthcare information and answer the world’s questions of health. Created by Jeff Arnold and Dr. Mehmet Oz, in partnership with Harpo Studios, HSW International, Sony Pictures Television, and Discovery Communications, the Sharecare interactive social Q & A platform allows people to ask, learn and act upon questions of health and wellness. The company's innovative approach provides a wide array of expert answers to each question ranging from hospitals to MDs to non-profits to healthcare companies to active health consumers, ultimately creating a community where healthcare knowledge is built, shared and put into practice.

About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies nearly half of the nation's blood; teaches lifesaving skills; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a charitable organization — not a government agency — and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit www.redcross.org or join our blog at http://blog.redcross.org.

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