If you’ve ever had to call 9-1-1 in an emergency, most likely it was an unexpected situation. Often you don’t know your precise location. Most people are not accustomed to dealing with emergency situations. Conveying the details of the emergency and the exact location in the heat of the moment can be extremely difficult.
RapidSOS‘s emergency communications app Haven contacts 9-1-1 and accurately transmits precise location, type of emergency, and, when applicable, health and demographic information. According to a white paper published by RapidSOS, people in the U.S. make 240 million 9-1-1 calls each year, 180 million of which are made with cell phones. Inaccurate location information is the greatest challenge for the emergency communications system. The system, designed in the 1960s and often routing calls among multiple dispatch centers, depends on precise locations for its effectiveness.
Incorrect or vague location information causes response delays at times when every minute counts. First responder delays in cases of accidents or medical emergencies can directly result in increased mortality rates, longer hospital stays, and longer recovery times due to complications. In the case of fires, which grow 20 percent per minute, the average cost of damage is $7,000 per minute delay.
With Haven installed on your smartphone, the app contacts 9-1-1 with the push of a button. Even if you are unable to speak the app can transmit your location. You can tap big buttons on the phone to indicate a medical, police, fire, or car crash. The app can transmit voice, text, photos, or video via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and cellular networks. The company claims its app is compatible with all U.S. dispatch centers. A Family Connect features simultaneously alerts your listed family members or emergency contacts when you use Haven. The Haven iOS and Android apps are free for downloading, subject to monthly individual or family plan charges of $2.99 or $4.99.
RapidSOS has partnered with two diabetes groups, College Diabetes Network and carbDM, to address needs of the diabetic community. Specifically, the company intends to synchronize with continuous glucose monitors with a predictive feature to alert appropriate response centers before people with diabetes have hypoglycemic episodes.
