The Venemergencia Foundation’s Public Access Defibrillation (PAD) Program Expands Across Venezuela with 28 Cardioprotected Zones
Caracas, September 29, 2025.—In Venezuela, nearly 50,000 people suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest each year, and 95% of cases result in death due to the community’s lack of preparedness and the absence of available tools in public spaces. As part of World Heart Day celebrations, the Venemergencia Foundation organized 10 training sessions to reinforce knowledge of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) techniques and the use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in communities that already have them, reaching a total of 500 participants. Through this initiative, they have strengthened the public’s ability to respond to emergencies and reinforced the organization’s commitment to building a country with better cardiac protection.
In 2024, the Venemergencia Foundation launched the Public Access Defibrillation Program (DAP), an initiative that aims to bring emergency care closer to people and transform everyday spaces into heart-safe zones.
Andrea Galarraga, Director of Sustainability at Venemergencia, explains that the program “is a key element in creating community medical systems, where people not only have the knowledge to respond but also the necessary equipment to do so.”
Education and Life-Saving Equipment
The program combines two fundamental pillars: the installation of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) at strategic locations and the training of citizens to act as first responders. Dr. Luis Enrique Velásquez Díaz, founding partner and Chief Operating Officer of Venemergencia, sums it up clearly: “Education is fundamental in emergency care.”
Since the installation of the first AED in Los Palos Grandes Square in Caracas, the DAP Program has shown encouraging results:
• More than 5,000 citizens have been trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) techniques.
• 28 active units are now available in high-impact locations, including the El Sistema headquarters, the Teresa Carreño Theater, and the Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria Church in Caracas, as well as the University of Carabobo and the Basilica of Chiquinquirá in Maracaibo. Various public squares and spaces in the municipalities of Chacao, Baruta, El Hatillo, and Libertador, as well as several private companies, are now heart-safe zones thanks to a portable defibrillator installed by Venemergencia as part of institutional partnerships that fulfill the company’s mission of providing greater access to healthcare for Venezuelans.
“Every second counts in an emergency. Every minute that passes reduces the probability of survival by between 7% and 10%,” notes Dr. Andrés Simón González-Silén, founding partner and executive director of Venemergencia, emphasizing the urgency of having prepared environments.
People at the Center
Beyond the innovation of installing medical equipment for public use, the DAP is a community development program that promotes safer, more supportive, and more resilient societies, thanks to multisectoral partnerships in which citizens take the lead. By empowering people to respond to medical emergencies, the DAP represents another step in the transformation of the healthcare system.
The program’s expansion to different cities across the country confirms the Venemergencia Foundation’s determination to make Venezuela a heart-safe country and paves the way toward a future in which every community has the capacity to save lives.
