Mayor Blangiardi honors Pamela Foster, RN for decades of lifesaving CPR and AED Advocacy
HONOLULU — Mayor Rick Blangiardi recognized today as “Pamela Foster Day” in recognition of Foster’s extraordinary commitment to improving survival rates from sudden cardiac arrest through cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) education, automated external defibrillator (AED) accessibility and community preparedness.
“Every second matters when someone experiences sudden cardiac arrest,” said Mayor Blangiardi. “Pamela Foster has dedicated her career to making sure more people in Hawaiʻi are prepared to take action, and her work has helped put lifesaving knowledge and equipment into communities across our state.”
Foster began her career as a registered nurse before founding the AED Institute of America in 2004. Her vision was to educate communities and promote early bystander CPR and the use of AEDs in public settings. Under Foster’s leadership, the AED Institute of America has implemented hundreds of Public Access Defibrillation Programs, placed more than 10,000 AEDs throughout local communities, and provided CPR education each year to tens of thousands of people.
In 2006, Foster implemented Operation Stay’N Alive, an AED program through the Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation Airports Division. The program expanded to 13 airports on six islands and offers free CPR and AED training.
“Since implementing the AED program at our local airports, more than 86 cardiac arrest patients have been saved,” said Foster. “Amazingly, that includes a cardiac arrest survivor from this morning at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport. A Good Samaritan placed an AED on the patient who was not breathing and had no pulse, shocked her, and brought her back to life.”
Foster also founded the Hawaiʻi Heart Foundation in 2010, a nonprofit organization that has provided CPR training at no cost to more than 200,000 elementary school students. Her life-saving efforts also expanded through a partnership with the Hawaiʻi Department of Education to provide CPR training to students and staff.
“Pamela’s work demonstrates the power of education and community preparedness,” said Jim Ireland, Director of the Honolulu Emergency Services Department. “By learning CPR and how to use an AED, you may save a life someday.”
Also during today’s proclamation ceremony, local resident Brian Lee spoke about how an AED saved his life in January 2024 at Honolulu Hale when he stopped breathing during a City Council meeting. Lee credited the City’s administration for installing the AED at the building and Foster’s strong advocacy for CPR and AED education.
October is recognized as National Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month, providing an opportunity to highlight the importance of CPR education and AED accessibility and to recognize individuals who have dedicated their lives to strengthening Hawai’i’s chain of survival.
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