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September 26, 2005
AED Saves Life in Gas City
| For More Information |
Tim Blodgett
Hometown Connections
303-526-4515
tblodgett@hometownconnections.com
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By Peggy Georgi
For Harold Gross, age 51, Tuesday, July 24 started out like any other day. While it was unseasonably hot, Harold had a list of things he wanted to accomplish that day – including mowing the lawn. That chore nearly made Harold a statistic.
Thanks to Gas City Police Captain Tim Eckstein and officers Jim Woodcox and Heath Emmons, members of the Gas City Rescue Squad’s EMT’s Scott Dunham, Brandon Eckstein and Brian Fuller and with the help of an Automated External Defibrillator, Harold did not become one of the 350,000 Americans who die each year from cardiac arrest.
After the call for help was received, the officers were the first on the scene. They could see that Harold appeared to be in cardiac arrest and began CPR. After the rescue squad arrived, the pads of the AED was attached to Harold’s chest and indicated that CPR needed to be continued. The pads were attached again to reassess the situation and this time indicated that a shock was needed. Together the officers and members of the rescue squad got Harold stabilized and transported to the hospital. Data recovered from the unit afterward indicated that it was the fourth shock from the AED unit that revived Harold.
Since the introduction of the AED more than 25 years ago, countless lives have been saved, including Harold through their use. These state-of-the-art devices (which shock the heart back into rhythm) can increase the lifesaving ratio by some 30 percent by those first to arrive on the scene of someone in cardiac arrest. The odds of survival are increased the sooner the device is used. Reviving a cardiac arrest victim drops 10 percent per minute. After five minutes in cardiac arrest the chances of survival drops by 50 percent and then another 10 percent per minute after that.
This critical life-saving tool that was once reserved for ambulances and emergency rooms are finding permanent homes in utility and police vehicles, factories, office buildings, homes and schools. In Gas City, there are AED’s located in utility vehicles, police vehicles, the hospital, ambulance, and local school,” said Ray Smith, Superintendent, Gas City Municipal Utilities.
“The Philips Heartstart automatic external defibrillator (AED) used for this save was made possible through a discounted pricing program available to the Gas City utility as members of the American Public Power Association (APPA),” said Steve Vandermeer, National Sales Director, Hometown Connections. “APPA, through their subsidiary Hometown Connections and Indiana partners Indiana Municipal Electric Association (IMEA) and Crawfordsville Electric Light and Power, has made discounted AEDs available to scores of public power utilities across the nation. The save in Gas City was one of the first that was the direct result of the priority public power has made to equip municipal employees with lifesaving defibrillators.”
“We are pleased that we were able to take advantage of this special discount through our state association and the American Public Power Association,” noted Ray. “While these units aren’t cheap they are well worth the investment.”
“AED’s are very effective and accredited with saving countless lives,” added Gas City Police Chief Kirk McCollum. “The simplicity of this equipment with its voice prompted instructions enables almost anyone to use the device to help save a life. While these are invaluable life-saving devices, we can’t underestimate the importance of knowing how to perform CPR which is a critical component of keeping the heart pumping until an AED unit arrives on the scene.”
See these web sites to save on purchasing of Philips AEDs
• Hometown Connections
• Philips Medical Systems
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