Automated defibrillators donated to local organizations

The SoutheastHEALTH Ambassadors, an arm of the SoutheastHEALTH Foundation, is working to reduce the annual number of fatal cardiac arrests in the United States by distributing defibrillators throughout the region.

Using funds raised by the Ambassadors, the SoutheastHEALTH Foundation purchased automated external defibrillators (AEDs) — the only effective treatment for restoring a regular heart rhythm during a sudden cardiac arrest.

Ten community organizations were awarded AEDs through an application/greatest-need process.

AED recipients are the Cairo (Illinois) Fire Department; Elks Lodge in Cape Girardeau; Christ Church of the Heartland in Cape Girardeau; Safe House for Women in Cape Girardeau; Grace Lutheran Church in Uniontown, Missouri; the Missouri Department of Probation and Parole in Cape Girardeau; Chaffee (Missouri) Fire Department; First General Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau; Emanuel United Church of Christ in Jackson; and Risen Church in Dexter, Missouri.

Heart health awareness and being proactive guided the decision to initiate the AED distribution program three years ago, Ambassadors president Tyler Cuba said in a news release from SoutheastHEALTH, and noted groups receiving AEDs will be trained on their use.

According to the release, there are more than 350,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests annually in the United States, and nearly 90% of them are fatal.

“[An AED’s] use is easily taught to people with no medical background. In a case of sudden cardiac arrest, using CPR and a defibrillator within five minutes equates to a survival rate of 50 percent,” Cuba said in the release. “That truly is a lifesaving difference.”

To apply for an AED, visit www.sehealth.org/foundation/aed-request. Additional AEDs will be awarded in the fall of 2020. Applications are accepted from now until May 31.