McKinney’s cardiac arrest survival rate reached 43% in 2025, a sharp increase from 10% in 2024. EMS officials attribute the improvement to a sustained effort by the McKinney Fire Department to reduce response times and expand basic life support training across the city. The initiative began in 2024, when the local survival rate was below the national average.
The program started with changes to 911 dispatch protocols. Dispatchers received education and training to guide callers through chest compressions and the use of automated external defibrillators, or AEDs. The fire department also trained police officers to respond to cardiac arrest scenes, ensuring that help could arrive quickly even before paramedics reached the location.
John de St. Germain, a part-time employee at the Bike Mart in McKinney, experienced the benefits of these early measures in April of last year. While repairing a light fixture, he was struck by nearly 300 volts of electricity, causing his heart to stop. A coworker with military medical experience immediately began CPR, while the store manager called 911.
Police officers arrived to assist before paramedics reached the scene. De St. Germain was transported to the intensive care unit at Baylor, Scott and White in McKinney, where medical staff used an AED to restore his heart rhythm.
De St. Germain recovered in weeks, a timeline first responders described as unusually fast. He credited the rapid response of his coworkers, the 911 operator, and the police officers for his survival. His wife, Diane, was waiting in the family room at the hospital when she learned that medical staff had successfully restarted his heart.
