Kerkrade Heart Safe

The municipality of Kerkrade has taken care to increase its residents' chances of surviving heart failure. To achieve this, the municipality of Kerkrade, in cooperation with the Kerkrade Healthy Foundation, has built the "Kerkrade Hartveilig" civil aid system, in which trained volunteers are deployed to resuscitate people in need with the help of special devices called AEDs, or defibrillators.

Kerkrade Heart Safe is a system of citizens and resources

The outdoor AEDs present in Kerkrade are connected to the alarm system of the 112 emergency room. The emergency room works with the alarm system HartslagNu. This system is fully automated and the trained volunteers of Kerkrade Hartveilig are included in a database of HartslagNu. If necessary, volunteers receive a text message or a WhatsApp message with a call to resuscitate and defibrillate. HartslagNu also registers which volunteers are due for refresher training and renewal of registration. So in the event of an emergency, the victim is assured of help from adequately trained volunteers.

How does Kerkrade Heart Safe work?

When heart failure is reported via the national emergency number 112, HeartbeatNow searches the nearest registered civilian emergency responders and AEDs in a targeted and fast manner.

Two types of calls are sent simultaneously via the mobile:

  1. Available civilian responders within a radius of approximately 500 meters of the victim receive a message calling, "Go to the following address and start CPR."

  2. Available citizen responders within a radius of approximately 400 meters from the AED facility and the victim will receive a message calling, "Go to the AED at the following address and take it to the victim at the next address."

Both messages show the date and time of the emergency call. At that moment, the called volunteers determine whether they are actually nearby and able to provide assistance. Because more citizen-helpers are called, there is a good chance that at least one citizen-helper will start CPR and one citizen-helper will pick up the AED.

AED Locations

The AED network in the public areas of the municipality of Kerkrade currently consists of 21 defibrillators. This has achieved a good coverage of the so-called 6-minute zones. A 6-minute zone is a place so arranged that in a case of heart failure help can be deployed within 6 minutes. In order to clearly display the AED locations, Kerkrade Hartveilig has made a distinction between three districts, namely West, North and Center/East.

West:
Social district point West, Akerstraat 31, 6466 HA (Spekholzerheide)
Sjtaater Hoes, Schaesbergerstraat 27, 6467 EA (Terwinselen)
Church H. Jozef, Kapelweg 5, 6466 AT (Kaalheide)
Flat Hestia, Lourdesstraat 2, 6465 BM (Gracht)
Medical Center West Kerkrade, Kampstraat 45, 6466 BR (Heilust)

North:
Socio-Project, Terbruggen 18, 6471 JV (Eygelshoven-kom)
A Genne Kom, Laurastraat 127, 6471 JJ (Hopel)
Cafe 't Anker, Mgr. Nolensplein 3, 6471 AE (Vink)
Flat Wonen Heuvelsteden, Willem Alexanderstr 13-23, 6471 XM (Waubacherveld)
LHC, Anselderlaan 85, 6471 GJ (Eygelshoven)
Residence, Wolfsweg 16, 6464 EX

Oost:
Rabobank, Markt 47, 6461 ED (Kerkrade Center)
Brede School Steltloper, Dir vd Mühlenlaan 30, 6463 VZ (Rolduckerveld)
Plusmarkt, Maria Gorettiplein 1, 6462 XB (Nulland)
Harmony Hall, Meuserstraat 133, 6464 EC (Haanrade - downstairs)
Chapel, corner of Lichtenbergstraat (55) - Beukenbosweg, 6464 AR (Haanrade - upstairs)
Gym 'the Future', Rolduckerstraat 155, 6461 VL (Rolduckerveld)
The Patronaat, Ursulastraat 232, 6462 TZ (Bleijerheide)
Residence Pater Pöttgensstraat 17, 6463 DN (Chevremont)
Flat Land van Rode, Schummerstraat 21 - 35, 6462 GD (Bleijerheide)
Residential care center, Hoog Anstel 1, 6463 XX (Chevremont)

Learn more or become a volunteer?

If so, please send an email to hartveilig@kerkrade.nl