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News - Conway Regional Medical Center, Conway Arkansas USA |
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| Conway Regional Medical Center |
| Conway Regional gives 2nd phase of AEDs |
| Date : - 21/10/2008 |
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The Conway Regional Health Foundation has kept its promise to purchase a second set of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to ensure that all Faulkner County schools and sports centers have coverage.
Twenty-nine AEDs were distributed on October 17 bringing the overall total donated by the Foundation to 46. The latest installment of AEDs is valued at more than $44,000.
“This is a classic win-win situation. The community can see how its support of Conway Regional pays off first hand with the purchase of these AEDs,” said Jim Lambert, Conway Regional President and CEO. “The 2008 golf tournament was so successful that we had enough money to not only ensure that every school was covered but also provide nine additional AEDs for travelling school teams. We were also able to include in this phase the four senior citizens centers in this county, along with the soccer and softball/baseball fields in Conway.”
An AED is a device about the size of a laptop computer that analyzes the heart's rhythm for any abnormalities and, if necessary, directs the rescuer to deliver an electrical shock to the victim. This shock, called defibrillation, may help the heart to reestablish an effective rhythm of its own.
The AEDs provided by this gift go beyond the basic defibrillator. According to manufacturer Zoll Medical, the Zoll AED Plus is the only full-rescue AED that supports both CPR and defibrillation. Once attached, the AED analyzes the person’s condition and provides instructions for electronic resuscitation and or cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
In the first phase of the project, the Health Foundation donated 17 AEDs, valued at $25,000, to Conway Public Schools, St. Joseph Catholic Schools, the McGee Center, and Don Owen Sports Center in March. The 2007 Conway Regional Golf Classic paid for the first installment of AEDs.
The gifts are believed to be the largest donations of AEDs in Arkansas.
In addition to buying the AEDs, Conway Regional is also purchasing the cabinets for mounting the machines to walls. Conway Regional has arranged with American First Response, a Maumelle based firm, to help with site evaluations at the different locations to determine where best to place the devices and to monitor and maintain all the AEDs for five years.
The phase II group of AEDs will be distributed as follows:
• Mayflower schools
• Mt. Vernon/Enola schools
• Greenbrier Eastside Elementary and Greenbrier Junior High
• Guy Perkins schools
• Woodrow Cummins Elementary
• Bob Courtway Elementary
• Conway High School gym
• St. Joseph Elementary
• YBMC/Softball field
• First State Soccer Park
• Conway Senior Citizens Center
• Boys and Girls Clubs
• Conway Adult Education Center
In addition to the schools the following traveling athletic programs will receive AEDs:
• Conway High School
• Conway Christian
• St. Joseph
• Vilonia
• Mt. Vernon/Enola
• Mayflower
Q&A
What is an automated external defibrillator (AED)?
An AED is a device about the size of a laptop computer that analyzes the heart's rhythm for any abnormalities and, if necessary, directs the rescuer to deliver an electrical shock to the victim. This shock, called defibrillation, may help the heart to reestablish an effective rhythm of its own.
How does an AED work?
An AED is easy to operate. It uses voice prompts to instruct the rescuer. Once the machine is turned on, the rescuer will be prompted to apply two electrodes provided with the AED to the victim's chest. Once applied, the AED will begin to monitor the victim's heart rhythm. If a "shockable" rhythm is detected, the machine will charge itself and instruct the rescuer to stand clear of the victim and to press the shock button.
Do all people in cardiac arrest require defibrillation?
Less than half of all cardiac arrest victims require defibrillation initially since they are experiencing heart rhythms that are not “shockable,” that is, defibrillation will not help these victims’ hearts to beat normally again. The critical action is CPR. Why? According to the American Heart Association:
• Victims of cardiac arrest need immediate CPR.
• CPR provides a small but critical amount of blood flow to the heart and the brain.
• CPR is especially important if defibrillation is not delivered for 4 or more minutes after collapse.
• Even after the heart is shocked (or more appropriately “stunned”), it still may not pump blood effectively in the first few minutes after successful defibrillation. Therefore, CPR may be needed several minutes following defibrillation to help the heart along.
Why are cardiac arrest survival rates low?
According to the American Heart Association, survival is directly linked to the amount of time between the onset of cardiac arrest and defibrillation. If no CPR is provided, a victim’s chances of survival are reduced 7-10 percent with every minute of delay until defibrillation.
About Zoll AED Plus
According to manufacturer Zoll Medical, the Zoll AED Plus is the only Full-Rescue AED that supports both CPR and defibrillation. For infrequent rescuers, the AED Plus supports the complete chain of survival and provides defibrillation, step-by-step CPR instructions and Real CPR HelpTM feedback on compression rate and depth to help rescuers provide the best manual CPR possible. Zoll’s corporate headquarters is located in Chelmsford, MA. with a website at http://www.zoll.com/
For additional information about this news release, call the Conway Regional Marketing and Public Relations Department at 513-5782.
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| Reference : - www.conwayregional.org |
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