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May 16,
2006
Placement List
- PDF
Little
Rock --
At a press conference in the Capitol Rotunda today, the placement of 195 lifesaving devices for communities across the state was announced by the Arkansas Rural AED Coalition. The Coalition received a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to buy Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) to place in rural areas with first responders. These devices will be used to help heart attack victims when no other medical assistance is available.
According to the American Heart Association, approximately 250,000 Americans a year die without being hospitalized. They say 680 people a day pass away without receiving hospital care. Their statistics show that use of a defibrillation device in the first few minutes after a heart attack can give a victim a survival rate of 48 to 74 percent.
Members of the American Heart Association, the American Red Cross, the Department of Emergency Management, the Arkansas Ambulance Association, and the Section of EMS and Trauma Systems, Rural Health/Primary Health, Cardiovascular Health, and Hometown Health Improvement of the former Arkansas Department of Health (now Division of Health, Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services) formed the Arkansas Rural AED Coalition to apply for the grant.
Anita Chance from the Faulkner County Emergency Squad Coalition was the honorary recipient of the first device this year. Dr. Paul Halverson, director, Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Health, presented the first device to her during the press conference.
Every first responding agency that receives a device will agree to train their personal in the proper use of the defibrillator.
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