SOLON — For 50 years people have seen cardiac defibrillators used on various television shows, typically with a doctor or paramedic pressing paddles against a person’s chest and shocking them back to life. Thanks to a number of initiatives over the last 25 years or so, defibrillators have become common place in various settings such as gyms, schools, churches, and other places where large numbers of people gather. And now one sits in a box on a pole along Main St. in front of Mushroom (City) Park.
The Solon Tri-Township Fire Department (SFD) was contacted by the Johnson County Ambulance Service (JCAS) about expanding their Public Access Defibrillation (PAD) program, which takes the life-saving devices out of the emergency rooms and ambulances and places them out in the community where anybody – medically trained or layperson, can use the defibrillator in a life threatening cardiac arrest situation. Through a partnership with the Rotary Kerber HeartSafe Community Campaign, Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) are being placed around Johnson County with several in the Iowa City-Coralville area and expanding to the outlying communities.
“They were very happy that we wanted to participate with the program and they are pleased that we have ours up and running,” said SFD Assistant Chief Scott Wolfe. “Solon Fire researched the downtown area and we thought this was the best place for the defibrillator.”
Located in a bright yellow box, people can access the unit by calling 9-1-1 while at the box. The dispatcher at the Joint Emergency Communications Center (J-COM) will take the information regarding the emergency, dispatch trained responders from the Solon Fire Dept., Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, and JCAS; and send a code for the caller to unlock the box.
While training in Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and AED use is highly encouraged and recommended, AEDs do not require formal training in order to be used. After turning the unit on, voice prompts will guide the user through the process, and the defibrillation pads (no paddles) have illustrations on them indicating clearly where they need to be placed. “Even if you don’t know CPR, you may get a shock and save a life,” Wolfe said. “Obviously, CPR training will help.”
During cardiac arrest, a person stops breathing, and their heart stops beating, in effect rendering them dead. An AED utilizes a microprocessor, which analyzes the electrical activity of the heart. If a shockable rhythm, known as ventricular fibrillation or ‘V-Fib’ is detected, the AED will administer an electrical shock (after warning all to clear from the victim) in the hopes of restoring normal electrical activity.
Early defibrillation (within the first few minutes of a cardiac arrest) has long been a point of emphasis with the American Heart Association (AHA) in their CPR training programs. And, it has been documented that a person’s chance of survival during a cardiac arrest drops 10% for each minute they are pulseless and breathless.
Another key to survival is early access to Emergency Medical Services (EMS), or ‘calling 9-1-1’ and getting trained responders enroute. The odds of survival are also greatly increased the sooner CPR is started, and an AED utilized. To that end, an app called PulsePoint notifies CPR-trained people of the cardiac arrest in the hopes somebody will be close enough to initiate CPR before the arrival of Fire, EMS, and/or deputies. Last February, JCAS, again in partnership with the Rotary-Kerber HeartSafe Community Campaign, announced the adoption of PulsePoint in Johnson County.
“With PulsePoint we hope to increase bystander involvement in time-sensitive medical calls by increasing the use of CPR and AEDs, while also keeping the community informed, in real time, of all emergency activities,” said JCAS Director Fiona Johnson in a press release. “It gives our residents and visitors the ability to know when a cardiac arrest is occurring close by, locate AEDs in the area, and perform potentially lifesaving CPR while our personnel respond to the scene. It also shows them general information for all 9-1-1 calls to keep them better informed of what’s going on in our community.”
“The app will alert your phone when CPR is needed in your area,” said Wolfe. “It will also tell you locations of AEDs in the area that can be grabbed and taken to the scene. So, if a person is willing to help in a crisis like that, all they need to do is download the app and navigate through the set up.”
More information, and links to download the free PulsePoint app can be found at www.johnsoncountyiowa.gov/ambulance/pulsepoint.
“Hopefully down the road we’ll be able to add more units,” said Wolfe noting the schools, Catholic church, and Methodist church have their own AEDs on-site. “That is really cool for our community.”
When seconds truly matter, the AED gives everyday people the power to potentially save a life.
“There is a lot of good to come from this, I believe,” Wolfe added.
An Automated External Defibrillator (AED) was placed on a pole in front of Mushroom Park last month and is in-service and available for use by the public. AEDs greatly increase the chances of surviving a sudden cardiac arrest when used within the first few minutes.