Posted: 3/10/04
By Barbara Brown
Automatic electronic defibrillators can save lives. That is the simple message the North Branch police department, city administration and fire department want to get out to the public.
The fire department will start a fund-raising push soon to buy AEDs for each of the trucks in the department.
After a unanimous vote of the membership during the March 1 fire department meeting, the group agreed to use the money it raises from this yearís smelt fry dinner and other fund-raisers to pay for AEDs.
Michelle Sundburg and Anne Hughson of Allina Hospitals and Clinics talked to the department membership at the March 1 meeting about the importance of first responders to have AEDs.
Most of the firefighters and first responders in North Branch have been trained using AEDs, but they still were impressed with the statistics presented.
Using an AED in the first five minutes after sudden cardiac arrest can increase someoneís chances of living by more than 30 percent.
Sudden cardiac arrest is an electrical malfunction in the heart called ventricular fibrillation ñ an ineffective quivering of the heart that makes it unable to pump blood.
It affects about 1,000 people each day in the United States and as many as 1 million people worldwide each year.
Unlike a heart attack ñ a situation where a blood vessel to the heart is blocked by plaque or a blood clot ñ sudden cardiac arrest has little treatment and even less warning signs.
Electric shock ñ called defibrillation ñ is the only proven treatment for sudden cardiac arrest, Sundburg said.
Sundberg and Hughson encouraged the fire department members to help North Branch become a Heart Safe community; one that is educated about the dangers of sudden cardiac arrest and works before an attack occurs to be prepared by supplying AEDs in the schools and public buildings.
The fire department also may help with training sessions for the public on how to use an AED.
Police Chief Jules Zimmer attended the fire department meeting to accept a donation from Hughson, a North Branch resident.
Zimmer said the city budgeted $8,000 in the next fiscal year for AEDs for City Hall, the liquor store and the library. The Rotary Club is expected to donate an AED sometime this year and Abundant Life Church also has promised to donate one, Zimmer said.
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