“Rural AED Program Brings Life-Saving Machines To Maine”
On March 5th of this year, Joe Gould was exercising at the Kennebec Valley YMCA in Augusta. Suddenly, he went into full cardiac arrest and collapsed.
Just as suddenly, Rob Pekins, the Y’s aquatic director, took action. Using his training and an automated external defibrillator – or AED – the Y had been equipped with, he brought Joe Gould back to life.
I recently had the pleasure of meeting these two men at the Augusta Fire Station as we celebrated a life saved. Rob Pekins was the hero that day, but I am proud that the defibrillator he so expertly used was there as the result of the bipartisan Rural Access to Emergency Devices (Rural AED) Act that I coauthored with Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin. It is so gratifying to see a bill that I sponsored produce such significant results.
The Rural AED Act provides grants to states to purchase defibrillators for distribution to community organizations and businesses and to train potential responders in their use. Since this law was enacted in late 2000, more than $40 million has been awarded in 49 states – in 2001, the program’s first full year in operation, 6,440 AEDs were purchased and 38,800 people were trained to use these lifesaving devices.
As one of three pilot states for this program, Maine has received more than $1 million. The AED that saved Joe Gould’s life is one of 576 that have been deployed throughout our state – to police, fire, and ambulance departments, to medical and dental clinics, to town halls, schools, colleges, parks, libraries, and museums -- and to YMCAs. Along with each AED comes training in the use of the device, as well as in basic CPR and first aid.
This program addresses a critical need. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in this country, and cardiac arrest, in which electrical rhythms of the heart malfunction, causes the sudden death of more than 250,000 people each year. Many of these deaths could be prevented if AEDs were more accessible. These small, easy-to-use devices can shock a heart back into normal rhythm and restore life to a cardiac arrest victim. They must, however, be used promptly. For every minute that passes before a victim’s normal heart rhythm is restored, his or her chance of survival falls by as much as 10 percent. According to the American Heart Association, making AEDs standard equipment in police cars, fire trucks, ambulances and other emergency vehicles and getting these devices into more public places could save more than 50,000 lives a year.
Cities across America have begun to recognize the value of fast access to AEDs and are making them available to emergency responders. In many small and rural communities, however, limited budgets and the fact that so many rely on volunteer organizations for emergency devices can make acquisition and appropriate training in the use of these life-saving devices problematic. The Rural AED Act has helped to overcome these obstacles.
Here in our state, the Rural AED program is administered by the Department of Public Safety’s Maine Emergency Medical Services, which has reached out to communities throughout the state. The Department has made AEDs available at a significantly discounted price – an average saving of $500 per unit. I commend Maine EMS for its effective and efficient administration, and the many community organizations who have taken part.
Above all, I applaud the thousands of volunteers – people like Rob Pekins – who have stepped forward to receive this life-saving training and who stand ready to put it to use in a crisis. I am proud of my Rural AED Act and what it has accomplished, but I am prouder still of the caring citizens who have made it so successful.
Just as suddenly, Rob Pekins, the Y’s aquatic director, took action. Using his training and an automated external defibrillator – or AED – the Y had been equipped with, he brought Joe Gould back to life.
I recently had the pleasure of meeting these two men at the Augusta Fire Station as we celebrated a life saved. Rob Pekins was the hero that day, but I am proud that the defibrillator he so expertly used was there as the result of the bipartisan Rural Access to Emergency Devices (Rural AED) Act that I coauthored with Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin. It is so gratifying to see a bill that I sponsored produce such significant results.
The Rural AED Act provides grants to states to purchase defibrillators for distribution to community organizations and businesses and to train potential responders in their use. Since this law was enacted in late 2000, more than $40 million has been awarded in 49 states – in 2001, the program’s first full year in operation, 6,440 AEDs were purchased and 38,800 people were trained to use these lifesaving devices.
As one of three pilot states for this program, Maine has received more than $1 million. The AED that saved Joe Gould’s life is one of 576 that have been deployed throughout our state – to police, fire, and ambulance departments, to medical and dental clinics, to town halls, schools, colleges, parks, libraries, and museums -- and to YMCAs. Along with each AED comes training in the use of the device, as well as in basic CPR and first aid.
This program addresses a critical need. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in this country, and cardiac arrest, in which electrical rhythms of the heart malfunction, causes the sudden death of more than 250,000 people each year. Many of these deaths could be prevented if AEDs were more accessible. These small, easy-to-use devices can shock a heart back into normal rhythm and restore life to a cardiac arrest victim. They must, however, be used promptly. For every minute that passes before a victim’s normal heart rhythm is restored, his or her chance of survival falls by as much as 10 percent. According to the American Heart Association, making AEDs standard equipment in police cars, fire trucks, ambulances and other emergency vehicles and getting these devices into more public places could save more than 50,000 lives a year.
Cities across America have begun to recognize the value of fast access to AEDs and are making them available to emergency responders. In many small and rural communities, however, limited budgets and the fact that so many rely on volunteer organizations for emergency devices can make acquisition and appropriate training in the use of these life-saving devices problematic. The Rural AED Act has helped to overcome these obstacles.
Here in our state, the Rural AED program is administered by the Department of Public Safety’s Maine Emergency Medical Services, which has reached out to communities throughout the state. The Department has made AEDs available at a significantly discounted price – an average saving of $500 per unit. I commend Maine EMS for its effective and efficient administration, and the many community organizations who have taken part.
Above all, I applaud the thousands of volunteers – people like Rob Pekins – who have stepped forward to receive this life-saving training and who stand ready to put it to use in a crisis. I am proud of my Rural AED Act and what it has accomplished, but I am prouder still of the caring citizens who have made it so successful.
