We are all familiar with the famous African proverb: “It takes a village to raise a child.” It can also be said that it sometimes takes a village to save a life.

That’s why the Barton Health Foundation is promoting a community-wide initiative — called the Heart Safe Community program — that is designed to educate citizens in learning how to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) as well as the strategic placement of automated external defibrillators (AEDs).

“Our goal is to raise awareness of signs and symptoms of heart attacks and cardiac arrest. Community members are a vital link in the chain of survival. Recognizing those symptoms and quickly acting on them saves lives,” said Chris Kiser, Executive Director of the Barton Health Foundation.

“Oftentimes, family members or coworkers are the first responders to a person in distress, and by educating community members on CPR training  and how easy it is to use an AED, survival rates will improve.”

Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA), a condition in which the heartbeat stops abruptly and unexpectedly, is a leading cause of death in the United States, claiming more than 325,000 lives annually, according to the American Heart Association. Brain death begins to occur four to six minutes after cardiac arrest. Chances of survival drop by 7 to 10% with every minute that passes without CPR and the use of an AED. Ninety-five percent of sudden cardiac arrest deaths occur before the victim reaches the hospital.

Put in simple terms, SCA survival rates could be as high as 50% if more people were educated in these lifesaving measures. The goal of the Heart Safe Community program is to train community members in CPR and to strategically place AEDs throughout the community. Public gathering places, schools, golf courses, marinas, beaches and housing developments are ideal AED locations.

Just ask Dr. Cheryl Orr, Director of Barton
Health’s Perioperative Surgical Home. While
watching a local Babe Ruth League baseball
game several years ago with her husband,
Dr. Lance Orr, a physician in the Emergency
Department at Barton Health, the couple
was summoned to an adjacent field, where a
man had collapsed.

“His friends thought he had suffered a seizure, and when we got there, he didn’t have a pulse. We immediately turned him on his back and started chest compressions. I made sure his airway was clear, while instructing another person to quickly get the onsite AED, located in the scorer’s booth. All the while, Lance maintained chest compressions,” Cheryl said.

“We applied the AED pads, which confirmed the victim had no pulse. The AED administered a shock, Lance continued the chest compressions and the victim woke up, fully neurologically intact. He was then transported to the Emergency Department at Barton Health.”

Thanks to her life-saving measures, Cheryl received the Citizen Award of Merit from the South Lake Tahoe Police Department.

“People tend to be afraid of AEDs, believing they will give a victim too much of a shock. AEDs are very user friendly and safe to use,” Kiser said. “All you need to do is follow along with the easily understood, recorded instructions, in either English or Spanish. It’s a proven life-saving device.”

You may purchase an AED through a tax-deductible donation of $1,800, and donate it to a location of
your choice, or use it to enhance the safety of your home. Alternatively, you may donate to the Heart Safe Community program, which allows the Barton Health Foundation to donate an AED to a local school or nonprofit organization.

For additional information on the program, call 530-543-5612.