In an emergency the N-1-1 app lets anyone alert nearby off-duty EMTs, medical personnel, and other responders who can quickly provide aid.
The American Heart Association reports that over 300,000 sudden cardiac arrest occur outside of hospitals in the US every year and 9 out of 10 of these patients die. If CPR can be performed on a SCA patient within the two of minutes, their chances of survival double or triple. SCA is 1 of dozens of use cases. N-1-1 can also be used to help with anaphylactic and asthmatic shock, cases of missing persons, non-immediate life threatening emergencies, unassisted child birth, and dozens of other situations.
The best 911 response times in the US are just over 5 minutes but frequently take significantly longer, especially when overwhelmed by large disasters. In an emergency, a few minutes can mean the difference between life and death. However, dispatch centers all over the world almost always have 3-4 times as many people off-duty and roaming around than they have on duty at the station. In addition, there are millions of private citizen responders in just the US who may be near an emergency and able to help but who will never be included in the 911 call. The American Heart Association alone trains 12 million people in CPR every year that never get the call to respond during emergencies. Any person with an epiPen can be a life saver to someone undergoing anaphylactic shock, but once again these people are left out of the loop. N-1-1 taps in to underused resources to address dire situations like Sudden Cardiac Arrest and Anaphylaxis to support 911 in filling in their gaps.