AED Program in the Heart of Your Community

AED Program in the Heart of Your Community Automated External Defibrillator Program

Agenda • What is an AED program? • Why is an AED program necessary? • How does the program work? • What does the AED unit do? • Who will be responsible?

Why an AED program? A program to give aid to a person in cardiac arrest and give them a higher chance of survival.

AED programs can increase the rate of survival for people who have heart related emergencies.

With a good plan and the correct training, one can be ready to save the life of a friend, loved one, or neighbor.

Why an AED program? The goal of is to deliver defibrillation to a victim of cardiac arrest three to five minutes after collapse.

Why is an AED program necessary? Emergency personnel may be on another emergency.

Why is an AED program necessary? For every one minute delay in starting CPR and using an AED, the chance of survival decreases by 10%.

Our Community AED Program is successful. There are 215 AED communities in The Villages.

Is an AED program just for “old people? ” 45 years old, triathlete. Doing training run for charity relay race from Tallahassee to Crystal River. Collapsed and did not survive.

How does the program work? Your community program will purchase a number of AEDs (Automated External Defibrillators) and subscribe to an alerting service that would be appropriate for your area. You will also purchase waterproof cases and outside cabinets that would be located your community to insure rapid response.

How does the program work? • The greater number of homes and number of people increases the success rate of starting the program and likelihood of saving a life. • The more AED “responders” trained the better your community will be able to handle a cardiac arrest situation. • .

How does the program work? The Villages Public Safety will provide CPR training free of charge for those in this community program. Each responder household would be connected to Ready. Alert.

How does the program work? While one or more responders would go immediately to the home, others would pass by the homes where the AED units are located and take them where needed. The units are stored in locked cabinets located on neighborhood property where they are readily available to responders, all of whom will have keys.

How does the program work? When a neighborhood resident calls 911 and reports a cardiac arrest, the neighborhood AED responders will be alerted via phone (home and/or cell).

Chest Compression Only CHEST COMPRESSION ONLY (CPR) makes the heart pump and keeps oxygen flowing to the body, but will not “start” the heart.

What does the AED unit do? When sudden cardiac arrest occurs, the heart starts to quiver chaotically (fibrillate) but not enough to pump blood. AED Stops the heart. Two natural pacemakers in the heart. Top, and middle. There are multiple in bottom. Pacemaker? No problem, AED can detect pacemaker. Implanted defibrillator, if it stops working you need AED.

How does the program work? When an AED neighborhood calls 911 and reports a cardiac arrest, the neighborhood AED responders will be alerted via phone (home and/or cell), text message and email. Ready. Alert: Dispatch Alert Message: From Ready. Alert 01: 22 cardiac arrest 1234 Main ct ____________________

What does the AED unit do? An Automated External Defibrillator (AED) is a small, portable, electronic device that analyzes heart rhythms and lets the user know when to deliver a shock when necessary.

What does the AED unit do? It gives audible commands and is very simple to operate.

Who is afraid of amateurs doing CPR?

Who will be responsible? The Villages Public Safety Department (VPSD) oversees and assists the program.

Who will be responsible? • VPSD will order the equipment, train the volunteers and provide continuing updates on training and equipment. • The responder volunteers would be responsible to administer CPR and pick up the AED unit on the way to the emergency.

Who will be responsible? • The community is responsible for installing the equipment. • Some communities establish a separate checking account for their community as an “AED Fund, ” in which all contributed funds are deposited and from which all checks will be written. The account can be set up where two signatures are required to write a check.

What if some people don’t participate? Because of liability concerns, EVERY HOME in your community would be covered in the case of an emergency regardless of whether they contributed or not. Out of town guests could be at the house. Why should I join? To help you loved ones or neighbors.

Do I have to be a volunteer? No, only if you want to volunteer. Is the AED difficult to use? It is virtually foolproof, and so easy to use anyone who understands English can use it.

Do I have any legal liability? Florida’s Good Samaritan laws protect any lay person who goes to the aid of a person in distress. Since the AED “shocks” only people who are clinically dead (i. e. not breathing) there is no risk of hurting someone.

What about mouth-to-mouth? AHA started this in 2012. We started in 2009! Mouth-to-mouth is no longer recommended. Hands only “Hard and Fast” 100 times per minute moves the same amount of air if you are sitting and breathing. 4, 000 to 5, 000 cc tidal volume. Would we respond to all emergencies? No, only cardiac/respiratory arrests. What about people on other neighborhood streets? Neighboring streets have separate AED programs.

How long is the CPR/AED training? The training lasts two and one half hours. You will schedule a training class at no charge for those individuals who are part of the community AED program and wish to be responders.

Consider this program a REAL LIFE Insurance Policy.

THE VILLAGES PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT 3035 South Morse Boulevard The Villages, Florida 32163 352/205 -8280 l FAX: 352/205 -8290