During a recent ceremony at Caravel Middle School in Carmel, Defibtech, a Connecticut-based manufacturer of automated external defibrillators (AEDs), announced that it is donating one AED to 25 different schools around Maine. AEDs are portable, electronic devices that can shock a heart back into normal rhythm and save a victim of sudden cardiac arrest. U.S. Senator Susan Collins and Jay Bradshaw, Director of Maine Emergency Medical Services (EMS), applauded the donations.
“Heart disease is the leading cause of death in both the state of Maine and the U.S.,” said Senator Collins during a recent event marking the donation. “Many of these deaths could be prevented if automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, were more accessible. That is why I coauthored the Rural AED law. I am pleased that this law has made AEDs more accessible to first responders and communities throughout our nation. I commend Defibtech for this generous donation to schools around our state. It truly is a life-saving gift.”
Presenting the AEDs was Dr. Glenn Laub, Defibtech’s CEO, who commended Senator Collins and Maine EMS for their outstanding advocacy of programs that are making AEDs more commonplace in Maine and across the nation. “As the number of AEDs increases, so do reports of lives saved from sudden cardiac arrest,” said Dr. Laub, a practicing cardiac surgeon.
The schools chosen to receive the donations also serve as community centers. Many of them are located far from hospitals or where average EMS response is prolonged due to drive time. Having an AED onsite is important because immediate resuscitation is vital. Studies show that more than 70 percent of victims defibrillated within a minute or two after arrest survive. If defibrillation is delayed for more than 10 minutes, only 5 percent live.
Senator Collins is a leading advocate in the U.S. Senate for increased access to AEDs.
The Rural Access to Emergency Devices (Rural AED) Act that Senator Collins co-authored with Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) has resulted in AEDs for rural communities across Maine and the nation. Through this program, about 1,000 AEDs have been deployed throughout Maine – to police, fire, and ambulance departments; to medical and dental clinics; and to town halls, schools, colleges, parks, libraries, and museums. This program is continuing with $1 million in additional funding signed into law in December 2007.
Senators Collins and Feingold also recently passed a Senate resolution designating the first week of June "National Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Awareness Week."
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