On June 5, 2018, Charles Farrell--father of CriticaLink Founder Jennifer Farrell--died suddenly from complications of an Aortic Dissection- a rare but often fatal emergency of the heart. In his memory, we are starting Charlie's Fund, which will be used to improve access to rapid, life-saving medical care all over the world. This fund will go to projects that focus on innovative use of mobile technology in medicine and empowering women in STEM, with the goal of saving MANY lives in the future.
Every second counts in a medical emergency, but rapid access to emergency medical services is lacking in most parts of the world. Over 90% of the world's population lives without access to basic Emergency Medical Services (EMS), such as 911. As a result, millions of people die each year from preventable deaths due to a delay in care that results from lack of trained professionals, medical supplies, and an infrastructure that can get trained people quickly where they are needed.
CriticaLink is an organization that aims to create access to rapid emergency care in communities by training people in basic life-saving skills such as bleeding control, splinting of fractures, and CPR. In addition, we focus on using mobile technology to overcome barriers in infrastructure by using mobile apps and phones to rapidly dispatch and connect trained community members to the people who need their help urgently.
Charlie's Fund will be used to support projects that focus on innovation and technology as a way to improve rapid access to emergency care all over the world. It will also promote women in the process, encouraging them to play a greater role in developing new technology, and taking leadership roles in the process. We will also work to integrate new technology into the mobile app (such as ultrasound) that can diagnose life-threatening illnesses in the field, saving countless lives in the process.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
