When the Evendale WeTHRIVE! team had an opportunity for grant funding, they decided to add eight new automated external defibrillators (AEDs), bringing the total number of AEDs available throughout the village’s municipal complex to 11.
Three AEDs have already been installed and the remainder will be in place by the end of March. Then the team will create a drone video showing the location of each device. There will also be an educational video explaining how to use the AEDs and encouraging residents to take an official training course taught by the Fire Department.
AED program aims to bring about a sense of community
The team sees all of this as a way to foster community engagement after the Covid pandemic and to give individuals a sense of purpose, according to team member Peter Lovaas, a firefighter/paramedic with the Evendale Fire Department. (Peter is pictured at the far right in the photo at top of this page.)
“A situation where you really feel disengaged, and you don’t have confidence, is during a significant medical situation,” explains Peter, who also lives in Evendale with his wife and two young children. Setting up a network of AEDs and offering training on how to use them will empower people to be able to make a difference in case of a cardiac event.
Municipal complex is the heart of the community
“This is where people of all ages come,” Peter says. It makes sense to have an AED program in an area where there is so much going on every day of the week.
The complex includes a cultural arts center, pavilion, recreation center, swimming pool, tennis/pickleball courts, athletic fields, and shelter houses. It’s also the location of the fire and police departments and village administration.
Where to put the AEDs?
Peter says the team mapped out ideal spots for the AEDs using the American Heart Association’s (AHA) recommendation that, for best outcomes, a shock to the heart needs to be delivered within three minutes of the onset of a cardiac event.
“This means that you should never be more than 90 seconds away from an AED, moving at a brisk walk,” Peter says. “The grant allowed us to get these tools and to put them in the municipal complex where, once the project is completed, regardless of where you are, you will be within the AHA recommended distance to an AED for the best possible outcome for the situation a person is experiencing.”
Peter adds, “It’s really important to emphasize that part of it. It’s not just making sure someone’s alive at the end of it. It’s making sure that someone’s able to return to where they were before they had this significant medical episode.”
Building confidence for a scary situation
When someone suffers a cardiac event, bystanders are in a position to provide life-saving intervention. Knowing where to find the closest AED and how to use it can give people confidence to act in these situations. “It takes a really, really stressful and challenging situation and it makes it possible for someone to not feel helpless,” Peter says.
Of course, there’s also the benefit to someone who suffers a cardiac event. “The idea with this program is the tools are there and we’re going to provide the resources as a fire department for you to be able to depend on anyone at any time, almost as a third family,” Peter says.
Training boosts comfort level
The fire department offers free CPR/AED/First Aid training for all residents, village employees, and employees of businesses located in Evendale. “It’s a participant-focused class,” Peter says. He wants people to learn about and practice the skills until they feel comfortable, then practice some more.
Participants will also be learning and practicing on the same type of AED that they’ll find wherever they are in the municipal complex.
“I’m not saying that the skills aren’t transferable to another brand of AED,” Peter emphasizes. “It’s just the idea that you’re being taught by the fire department where you work or live, on how to use the exact same equipment that you’re going to be using to help in a situation. It creates a tighter community, and it makes it safer for everyone.”
Learn more about the Evendale WeTHRIVE! team here. Current team members are: Susan Gordy, Michele Gottschlich, Adam Knight, Peter Lovaas, and Kristen Maiden.