Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz was joined today by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield President Jessica Cox and Erie County Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Gale Burstein to recognize Highmark BCBS as the first local employer to earn the “HEARTSafe Workplace” designation.
The “HEARTSafe Workplace” designation helps local businesses create safer environments for employees, customers, and visitors. Since sudden cardiac arrest can happen anywhere, and quick action saves lives. This designation involves:
*CPR and AED training for staff
*Strategic placement of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) for public access
*A Cardiac Emergency Response Plan (CERP)
“The HEARTSafe designation reflects a commitment to saving lives through effective preparation, enhancing our community’s ability to respond swiftly to sudden cardiac emergencies,” said Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz. “This is an ongoing effort to create a safer community got Erie County residents and guests to our region. I’m already looking forward to future recognition ceremonies when other local employers join Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield as HEARTSafe Workplaces.”
“Every second matters when someone’s heart stops. When you consider how much time people spend at work, extending our HEARTSafe program into workspaces makes a lot of sense,” said Erie County Commissioner of Health Dr. Gale Burstein. “Work sites that have a clear emergency plan and ensure AEDs access are supporting public health and their workforce and helping to build our Erie County AED infrastructure. We thank Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield for being the first to sign on to our workplace program and for their other initiatives around heart health awareness and CPR training.”
Erie County was officially recognized in May 2025 as a HEARTSafe Community by the Citizen CPR Foundation, a national designation that highlights the county’s commitment to improving outcomes from sudden cardiac arrest through public education, emergency preparedness, and coordinated response.
To earn this designation, Erie County met 13 essential benchmarks, including a year-long effort to educate more than 15 percent of county residents – approximately 147,000 people – in hands-only CPR. Other criteria were related to increasing access to automated external defibrillators (AEDs), strengthening 9-1-1 dispatcher protocols, and building a system of rapid response supported by community partners, schools, local organizations and emergency medical services.
“As a leading health plan and employer of over 1,400, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield is committed to advancing cardiac emergency preparedness,” said Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield President Jessica Cox. “We are honored to receive Erie County's prestigious HEARTsafe designation, which underscores our dedication to empowering our team members and the broader community. From widespread CPR training programs to ensuring every Buffalo and Erie Public Library, plus our not-for-profit community partners, and youth sports teams are equipped with Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs), we are actively building a more responsive community, fostering a healthier work environment, and ultimately saving more lives."
Community partners have played an instrumental role in aligning training, protocols and police work with the HEARTSafe model. Key collaborators include the American Heart Association, the American Red Cross, the Buffalo Bills, Buffalo Black Nurses, Buffalo and Erie County Public Library, Cardiac Crusade, Highmark, Project Play WNY, UBMD Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, and Erie County’s Live Well Erie, Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) programs.
Erie County is proud to be a part of a growing national network of HEARTSafe communities committed to reducing deaths from sudden cardiac arrest through prevention, preparedness and public engagement.
For more information:
About Erie County’s HEARTSafe community designation, visit www.erie.gov/HEARTSafe
