Presentation at Kirkwood City Council Meeting
Honors Victims of February City Hall Tragedy
Launches Heart Safe Community Program

 
Look for this colorful decal in the window of businesses who have an AED unit through the Kirkwood Heart Safe Community Program.

SSM St. Joseph Hospital of Kirkwood and Philips Medical Systems presented the City of Kirkwood with an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) during the June 5, 2008, City Council meeting in honor and in memory of the victims of the February Kirkwood tragedy. The installation of this unit in the Kirkwood City Hall entryway will serve as the official launch of the Kirkwood Heart Safe Community Program. An additional unit purchased by the City of Kirkwood was recently placed in the Kirkwood Train Station.  
     June 1-7 is National CPR and AED Awareness Week, which encourages cities and towns across the United States to establish organized programs that provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and AED training, as well as increased public awareness to AEDs. The American Red Cross is striving to reach 250,000 people nationwide during this one week.
     The Heart Safe program is a collaborative effort by SSM St. Joseph Hospital of Kirkwood, the City of Kirkwood Fire Department, Philips Medical Systems and the American Red Cross St. Louis Area Chapter. The program provides enrolled businesses and organizations with the necessary tools to respond quickly when a sudden cardiac arrest occurs. “While the EMS response is very good in Kirkwood, it can take up to five minutes to reach the scene of an emergency,” said Larry Bierman, assistant chief for the Kirkwood Fire Department. “In that time, a trained layperson can deliver a ‘shock’ and restart the heart, well before we arrive.”
     An AED is a small, portable device that analyzes heart rhythms. It offers the user voice-prompted instructions, and, if necessary, can deliver a potentially lifesaving shock to a victim in cardiac arrest.
     Businesses and organizations that enroll in the program will have access to discounted equipment, CPR and AED training, and medical oversight from St. Joseph Hospital of Kirkwood for their site-specific response plan.
     In advance of the June 5 presentation, Kirkwood Fire Department conducted a site assessment for city hall and the train station, identified site coordinators, developed an emergency response plan for each site and provided CPR/AED training to city hall employees and train station volunteers. The fire department will conduct post-placement monitoring of the equipment.
     Philips Medical Systems is offering significant equipment discounts for businesses enrolled in the Heart Safe program through its distributor, the American Red Cross St. Louis Area Chapter. The American Red Cross chapter also will offer opportunities for CPR and AED training.
     For more information about enrolling in the Heart Safe program, call Pam Gordon, in the St. Joseph Hospital of Kirkwood Foundation Office at 314-966-1604 or email Pam_Gordon@ssmhc.com.

PROGRAM UPDATE!

Metro Heart Group and State Street Foundation each recently made a generous donation to the Foundation in support of the new Kirkwood Heart Safe Community Program. The $2,500 grant from Metro Heart Group will be used to by the Foundation to reach out to Kirkwood community businesses and organizations who could host public access Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) units and commit to training responders. The State Street Grant of $5,000 will be used to purchase training equipment, educational materials and supplies needed to market the program and recognize participating organizations. The donations followed the official program launch in June and the installation of AED units at Kirkwood City Hall and Kirkwood Train Station. Additional units are already in place at the Kirkwood Community Center and Recreation Station Aquatic Center in Kirkwood Park.