[Bogie Shooter]

An email to The Villages Public Safety Department, asking for statistics on the neighborhood program, resulted in this response. ( I think it is impressive that when one of the Departments within the VCCD is asked a question, a quick response is received)
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Currently we have over 140 AED neighborhood programs covering approximately 12,500 homes with 380 AEDs. In the 6 years of the neighborhood program, we have only had 18 call-outs, where a 911 caller reported a cardiac arrest in an AED neighborhood. we�ve had six cardiac arrest SAVES. That doesn�t sound like much (33.3%), but of the 18 call-outs, there were only 8 viable patients. In other words, there were ten patients who were not able to be saved under any circumstance. (Example: One caller reported �Send help. I think my grandfather has died.� Well, grandpa had been dead for several hours as evidenced by rigor mortis , etc. We�ve had other patients who were in similar states, even though responders were called out). But of the 8 viable patients we�ve had 6 saves for a save-rate of 75%. I think that�s pretty impressive!

You also need to look at the AED program in the Recreation Centers and softball fields. Over the years, we have had no fewer than ten saves at the rec centers, softball diamonds, and sports pools. This is attributed to early initiation of CPR and use of the AEDs. So, does The Villages AED program work? Absolutely!


Gail

Capt. Gail J. Lazenby, M.S., EMT-P

EMS Training and Quality Assurance Officer

The Villages Public Safety Department