GREENVILLE, S.C. – Prisma Health today announced a partnership with HRTHUDL (pronounced Heart Huddle), the nonprofit founded by former University of South Carolina quarterback Connor Shaw, to expand CPR education, raise awareness about sudden cardiac arrest and increase access to automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in communities across South Carolina.
The partnership reflects a shared commitment to helping families, coaches, athletes and community members recognize and respond to cardiac emergencies when every second counts.
Prisma Health will help support the launch of HRTHUDL efforts in communities to expand CPR education, increase awareness of sudden cardiac arrest and help place additional AEDs. As part of the collaboration, Prisma Health is providing a $50,000 contribution to help increase access to lifesaving resources.
“This partnership gives people throughout our community the opportunity to learn lifesaving skills, gain confidence in responding during an emergency and help make our schools, athletic fields and neighborhoods safer. By expanding CPR education and awareness, we can empower more individuals to act when every second counts,” said Mark O’Halla, President and CEO, Prisma Health.
Shaw launched HRTHUDL after experiencing sudden cardiac arrest while coaching youth football. His recovery underscored the critical importance of bystander CPR, trained responders and readily accessible AEDs.
“I’m alive today because people around me knew what to do and had access to the right equipment at the right time,” said Shaw. “Through HRTHUDL, we’re working to ensure that more communities have access to CPR training and AEDs so more families can experience the outcome I was fortunate to have. We’re grateful for Prisma Health’s partnership and support in advancing this mission.”
Gopi Dandamudi, MD, President Heart & Vascular Institute , emphasized that survival from sudden cardiac arrest depends on immediate action. "The most important care often begins before a patient reaches the hospital," said Dandamudi. "Early CPR and rapid AED use can dramatically improve survival and recovery. At Prisma Health, we are prepared to provide advanced cardiac care once a patient arrives, but those first few minutes and the actions of bystanders are often what make survival possible."
As part of the announcement, Prisma Health clinical experts demonstrated the use of CPR and AEDs, reinforcing a central message of the partnership – that ordinary people, equipped with the right training and resources, can play an extraordinary role in saving lives before emergency responders or hospital teams arrive.
