Isabella Bank Institute for Entrepreneurship

At the beginning of February, local physicians, medical students and residents took to the ice at the Dow Event Center alongside former professional hockey players for Shocks and Saves, a charity hockey game that supports cardiovascular wellness in our region.  This event has become a beloved tradition thanks to the dedication of the Pulse3 Team, Peter Fattal, M.D., and former Detroit Red Wings player, Jiri Fischer.

Fischer suffered a sudden cardiac arrest on the ice during a televised game in November of 2005.  He was successfully resuscitated with prompt CPR and AED usage by Dr. Toni Colucci and the Red Wings medical staff.  Turning tragedy into triumph, Fischer partnered with Dr. Fattal and the Pulse3 Foundation to create Shocks and Saves and raise funds for AED placement and CPR training.  Since its inception, the event has helped place over 400 AEDs throughout mid-Michigan and has provided CPR training to thousands of people.  Collectively, these efforts have resulted in more than 20 lives saved and have helped to drastically improve cardiac arrest outcomes in Saginaw County. 

In the past two years, the Pulse3 Endowment for Cardiovascular Health at CMU  Has championed the “MI HEARTSafe Schools Award” program through the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.  Through a partnership with BWell Saginaw, Pulse3 has also assisted more than a dozen schools in achieving this award.

“As a College of Medicine, we are committed to improving the health and safety of our community.  The annual Shocks and Saves Charity Hockey game aligns perfectly with that mission, and we are honored to continue this amazing effort in collaboration with Jiri and Dr. Fattal," said Steve Vance, M.D., director of the Pulse3 Endowment.  "The results are transformational, and the stories intensely personal.  Each year, lives are saved in the Great Lakes Bay Region because of Shocks and Saves.”

The game featured Detroit Red Wing and NHL alumni Kirk Maltby, Brad Stuart, Chris Thorburn, Jakub Kindl, Chris Tamer, Trevor Nill and, of course, Jiri Fischer himself.  The event raised over $40,000 in support of the Pulse3 Endowment and cardiac emergency preparedness training.