New AEDs installed in NE Iowa Community

The Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation gifted defibrillators to many local law enforcement officials last week following the successful community direct mail fund drive held last fall. Each Allamakee County deputy as well as the Monona Police Department received a defibrillator for their vehicle to ensure CPR and defibrillation is quickly accessible in all sections of the Veterans Memorial Hospital service area. Pictured, in front middle receiving the defibrillators are Brian Berger of the Monona Police Department; Clark Mellick, Allamakee County Sheriff, and Barry Olson, Allamakee County Deputy. Also pictured, left to right are Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation members Amy Cote’-Hill, Lori Bahr-Stevenson, Nona Sawyer, Craig Lensing, Gloria Krambeer, Wayne Burke, Jeff Mitchell, EMT-P, EMS Supervisor, Veterans Memorial Hospital, Jackie Halverson, Nancy Schoh, Jane Dietrich, Paula Kerndt Wickham, President of First Voice who supplied the defibrillators, and Dennis Lyons also of the Foundation.

Waukon, IA-May 13, 2014- The community of Waukon, Iowa and surrounding areas are now equipped with new lifesaving devices. Philips Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) were installed in various locations throughout the community and to local law enforcement and public safety officials, thanks to the direct mail fund drive held by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation last fall. This drive successfully brought in over $25,000 in funds from Allamakee and Northern Clayton County communities. These new defibrillators are located in each city police department in the Veterans Memorial Hospital coverage area, all Allamakee County Sheriff’s vehicles, and the ER of Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon as well as several other locations that were noted as high risk areas in need of the devices.

These defibrillators are part of the new Community Cardiac Arrest Specialty Team (CCAST), which was initiated in the community 2 years ago. This team responds to every cardiac arrest reported in the area. The team brings all equipment and performs any initial care needed at the scene instead of waiting until the victim arrives at the hospital, which makes a big difference in rural areas like these. Communities that implement teams like CCAST raise survival rates from 3% to 25%. This team’s survival rate since beginning has been an astounding 75%, proving how beneficial these teams are in communities.

The new equipment deployments were celebrated May 13, 2014, at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon, with the AED recipients including: Brian Berger of Monona Police Department; Clark Mellick – Allamakee County Sheriff; Barry Olson – Allamakee County Deputy; staff of Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH); VMH Foundation staff and Board members; and Jeff Mitchell, VMH EMS Chief.

AED devices are a critical component in increasing survival rates among sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) victims. SCA is the leading killer in the United States and claims over 300,000 lives annually in the United States alone; more people every year are killed by SCA than by cancer and strokes combined. The key to fighting SCA is defibrillation (use of an AED) within a very short period of time from the onset of SCA. The statistics show that for every minute that passes there is a 10% decreased chance of survival. AEDs allow for defibrillation during the initial minutes after 9-1-1 EMS has been called, those critical early minutes make all the difference between life and death during SCA events.

The Philips AEDs were sourced from a well-established industry integrator and wholesaler, Think Safe. Think Safe has been providing life saving equipment and training for over 10 years, all over the world, and is headquartered in the Cedar Rapids metro area. Think Safe is an innovator in the first aid industry and holds various proprietary patents as a manufacturer of First Voice first aid hardware and software products.

Think Safe has seen the value of implementing AEDs and the lives that can be saved by them. New lifesaving stories can be regularly viewed on their website or Think Safe Blog. Think Safe is dedicated to the fight against SCA and gladly offers AED grants or contributing donations to help offset the costs of lifesaving devices.

Michelle (Kerndt) Scroggs, Paula (Kerndt) Wickham, Jennifer (Snitker) Mittan

Think Safe President and Owner, Paula Kerndt Wickham, is originally from Waukon, Iowa, and attended the event in her hometown. Also in attendance were Michelle Kerndt Scroggs and Jennifer Snitker Mittan, whom are also from Waukon, Iowa and key Think Safe employees at the Cedar Rapids headquarters. “It makes us proud to be providing some of our Think Safe services and software or other products to our hometown area. Congratulations to the local community for stepping up and funding this lifesaving initiative and making it a priority. Not all communities have funded these types of initiatives yet and so we are very proud of our hometown community for their success with this project. While Think Safe manages over 10,000 devices nationally, we want local Waukon family and community members know we were pleased to provide product, services and ongoing servicing for this particular project.”

About Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA)

Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is a condition in which the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating, causing blood to stop flowing to the brain and other vital organs. SCA usually causes death if it’s not treated within minutes.CPR alone will not restart the heart, so the American Heart Association recommends CPR combined with early defibrillation (within three to five minutes) for the best outcome.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), SCA claims more than 300,000 lives annually in the U.S. alone. It occurs abruptly and without warning, with 84 percent of SCA events occurring outside of the healthcare setting.

 About Think Safe, Inc.

Think Safe, Inc. is committed to bringing technology into the field of emergency readiness and response. Think Safe provides products and services that improve access to first aid and emergency training and improve emergency response outcomes. Think Safe is based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. To learn more about Think Safe and its products or services, please visit www.firstvoice.us or follow Think Safe at Facebook, Twitter, and their Blog.

 

For more information on SCA, AEDs, or our grant program fill out the form below.

 

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Another Life Saved, Another AED Donated

Newtown, PA – January 6, 2014 –As a result of a recommendation by a responder who saved a man’s life using CPR and an Automated External Defibrillator (AED), the Flamingo Cocktail Bar in Redlands, as well as other nearby businesses, will have access to a HeartSine AED.  The donation is part of HeartSine’s Forward Hearts program that enables a saved person or his/her responder to donate an AED to the organization of their choice.

The AED being donated by Anytime Fitness’s Noel Basilides to bar owner Michael Plunkett.

Noel Basilides, an assistant manager at Anytime Fitness in Riverside, was able to use his recent CPR training to save the life of a 75-year old man with a heart condition.  The man, who wishes only to be known as Thomas, had just finished his daily four-mile run on the treadmill when Noel noticed that he didn’t look well.  Before Basilides could react, Thomas suffered a sudden cardiac arrest and fell on to the moving treadmill before being tossed to the cement floor.

Says Basilides, “When Thomas collapsed on the treadmill, he hit his head and passed out.  I thought he was unconscious due to his head injury, but realized it was more serious when he didn’t wake up and then stopped breathing.”

Fortunately for the stricken man, Basilides had just attended a mandatory CPR class the previous week, and knew to call for help, perform CPR and use the AED.

“I have to admit that I was really scared to press that shock button, but was very glad I did.  After the shock, we followed the AED prompts to perform more chest compressions and thankfully Thomas started breathing.”

The paramedics arrived a full nine minutes after the call was placed.  Thomas’ doctors told Basilides that he survived due to the quick response to use the AED.  After a short stay in the hospital, Thomas has made a full recovery.

Adds Basilides, “After being able to save a life because the gym had the AED, I can’t talk enough about the importance of having these devices in all businesses.  Frankly I can’t understand why AEDs are not required by law.“

Due to his lifesaving efforts, Basilides was asked by Thomas to choose the recipient of the new HeartSine AED.  He chose the Flamingo Cocktail Bar, a popular local family-run bar in Redlands where he also works as a security guard.

Owner of the business, Michael Plunkett is pleased about the donation.  “After hearing from Noel about his experience with an AED, we are grateful that he selected our business to receive the donated AED.  We intend to provide our staff with CPR training, and will make other businesses near us aware of the AED should they ever need to use it.”

Noel Basilides with the AED that saved a man’s life.

HeartSine joins Think Safe, the distributor who sold the AED to Anytime Fitness, to make the Forward Hearts AED donation on behalf of Thomas and Noel.  Think Safe President, Paula Wickham adds, “This is the way things should work.  The Pay It Forward Program allows recognition of a life saving event and enables others to share their story and life saving victory over the disease that is the nation’s leading killer.  Another life may be saved in the future, outside the gym, due to Anytime Fitness doing the right thing for their club members. Our congratulations go out to HeartSine and Anytime Fitness for another valuable life saved!”

For more information on The Pay It Forward Program or how to get an AED grant or AED donation, fill out the form below. 

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Corrective Action vs. Recall – Is there a difference?

In late 2012, HeartSine announced a corrective action on their samaritan PAD unit (300/300P) for certain serial numbers.  The corrective action can be serviced from the field with a software update and a new battery Padpak unit.  The corrective action link to more information is: http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/Safety/ListofRecalls/ucm328604.htm

All customers with HeartSine samaritan units in the field should have received a corrective action form to fill out per Think Safe’s instructions. Contact us at 888-473-1777 or complete the form below for any questions on this form or your upgrade package.

HeartSine has taken the appropriate steps to correct any potential device malfunction and the manufacturer is contacting customers to ensure all field units are updated. inquiries can be directed to Think Safe’s customer support department at 888-473-1777 regarding the corrective action.

The software upgrade link online is: http://www.heartsine.com/en/library/updates/recall/  However, the software upgrade should not be done until filling out proper paperwork first.

FDA corrective actions or recalls in the AED world are not unprecedented.  Cardiac Science, Welch Allyn, Medtronic/Physio Control, Philips, Zoll, and Defibtech — all of the United States AED market ‘players’ have had FDA corrective actions or recalls. In an industry that has been around for only approximately 20 years, the product technology will continue to evolve and be subject to upgrades.

What is the official FDA definition of corrective action vs. recall?  Technically, they are the same thing.  Some recalls / corrective actions do involve REMOVAL of the device from the field.  The HeartSine corrective action does not.

HeartSine samaritan

For more FDA terminology see: http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/DeviceRegulationandGuidance/PostmarketRequirements/RecallsCorrectionsAndRemovals/

 

 

 

 

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