A defibrillator has been purchased for St. John’s Lutheran Church through
part of the memorial funds given in memory of Dr. Leonard Gangeness. The
Council gave approval to the Health Ministry’s request during early summer.
The defibrillator is located by the telephone near the sanctuary on the west
side. The staff has been trained in its use – although it is designed to be
used safely by people who are not medically trained. Anyone who has taken a
CPR and AED (automated external defibrillator) instruction course can use an
AED. AED’s are being used by a wide range of people and can be found almost
everywhere in the community – including schools, churches, office buildings
and law enforcement buildings and vehicles.What is “sudden cardiac
arrest”?
Sudden cardiac arrest is an electrical malfunction of the heart that
claims 1,000 lives each day in the U.S. In an arrest, the heart is in
ventricular fibrillation – a lethal rhythm that prevents the heart from
beating effectively and pumping blood to the rest of the body. With each
minute that goes by in arrest – the victim’s chance of survival decreases by
10%. The survival rate nationally is only 5%. “Defibrillation” or the action
of the AED, delivers an electrical shock to convert the heart back to its
normal rhythm – and the only effective treatment for sudden cardiac arrest.
(*This is not a heart attack.)
What is an AED?
An automated external defibrillator – or AED – is a small device (about
the size of a laptop computer) that analyzes the heart’s rhythm and
instructs the device to deliver a shock, if necessary. AED’s are easy to
use, providing both audible and written instructions. They’re also
completely safe. In fact, the AED is designed to prevent a shock from being
delivered if it is not necessary. The availability and use of AED’s can
dramatically improve survival from sudden cardiac arrest. In communities
that have implemented AED programs – survival rates are nearing fifty
percent!
How Do You Use an AED?
If you suspect that someone is suffering from sudden cardiac arrest – the
first thing you would do is call 911 to alert medical emergency personnel
and get them on their way - and then begin CPR. If the person is not
responding – retrieve the AED from its storage location. The machine will
instruct you step-by-step from the moment you turn it on. Its audible
instructions tell you how to connect the electrodes to the body according to
the pictures on each electrode. The AED will automatically sense when the
electrodes have been placed and begin analyzing the victim’s heart rhythm.
If the AED determines a shock is necessary – it will instruct you to press
the ‘shock’ button immediately after it warns you and others to stand back
and do not touch the patient. After the electrical shock has been
administered by the unit – the AED will then re-analyze the patient’s heart
rhythm to determine if the shock was successful. The patient may require
multiple shocks from the AED.
Liability Concerns
• You are unable to harm someone who is already clinically deceased.
• Federal laws grant “Good Samaritan” immunity to trained responders using
AED’s.
Our very gracious thanks to Hermoine Gangeness and her family for helping us
to create a heart-safe church!
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