b'AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATIONThe American Heart Association (AHA) has championed CARES from the very beginning. In recent years, it played a pivotal role in securing federal funding for the program through the CAROL Act and continues to lead advocacy efforts to ensure sustainable support for nationwide expansion. Each year, the AHA advocates to ensure congressional funding is appropriated so that CARES can continue to grow, says Dr. Comilla Sasson, Health Science Executive at the AHA.That advocacy reflects a broader mission: to build a nation of lifesavers equipped with the tools and training We are utilizing CARES data to identifyto respond when every second counts. In 2023, the priority neighborhoods, guide ourAHA launched its Nation of Lifesavers campaign, a bold training efforts, and measure thenational initiative to increase lay rescuer confidence and impact of the Nation of Lifesavers workpreparedness. CARES data serves not only as a baseline in each community to identify where help is most needed, but also as a way CARES is one of the pillars of thisto measure progress and impact.program, as we realize just how important accurate, timely data is. You cannot improve if you do not measure. As we continue on our mission to save more lives from cardiac arrest, we will continue to strengthen our work with CARES. Together, we can double OHCA survival by 2030. Dr. Comilla SassonHealth Science Executive at the AHACARES PRIMEThese critical partnershipsalongside collaborations with CPR LifeLinks, the CDC, and the Resuscitation Academyled to the creation of the CARES PRIME Team (Program for Resuscitation Improvement, Modernization, and Expansion). This multi-organization initiative aims to increase cardiac arrest survival rates through data-driven insights, community training, and quality improvement.The Teams primary goal is to build resilient communities where survival is not determined by geography. By targeting priority areas with specialized interventions, CARES PRIME strengthens each link in the Chain of Survival, ensuring that more lives are savedregardless of where an OHCA occurs.Written by Martha Nolan, Director of Publications, Woodruff Health Sciences Communications of Emory University. 27'