I think The Villages has done an excellent job in instituting a Defib program. There is a Defib unit at every Recreation Center in The Villages. And the people working at the centers are trained to use them. They have had a number of successes in "bringing back" folks.

In addition there are neighborhoods that have put up the bucks to have units available in their 'hoods, and people trained to use them.

If you would like more info on this topic, I suggest you ask the fire chief's office. They know where every unit in The Villages is, and train those responsible for their use.

The liability issue is pretty much a non-issue in Florida as there is a very good "Good Samaritan law" to protect those who dare to help others in need.

Fourpar,
Excellent info......that is a much better picture then this thread was seeming to paint. Also, it is more of what I would have expected in a place like TV....it was beginning to look a tad ugly safety-wise...........

Frank D.

In the early days of our Village the majority of the neighbors
 

agreed we should have these devices in our Village.
Yes the issue of liability came up...(of course in our litigious society) and reached an easy agreement on the legal mumbo jumbo. The cost per resident was reasonable....and we implemented.

We have 4 units....affixed to select homes of those who volunteered to have them. We have local responders with beepers....tied to the 911 system...conducted all the required training....certifications....coordination with 911.

A tough issue came up regarding those who did not want to contribute or those who did not want the responsibility legal or other wise....what if one of them is the emergency...of course we all agreed, they are our neighbors, and we will treat them no differently.

BTK

The last few posts have made me feel much better. I would have expected that AED's would be available at the centers at least and it is good to see that they are. I just wonder how some folks are so misinformed?

Good question Russ.... I think the AEDs are failry new...last 3 years and have gradually been put in place. I remember reading stories in the Sun as they were being installed and there have been one or two lifesaving stories in the paper.

From a link on the CDD website, here are the locations:

http://www.districtgov.org/slcdd/recreation/AED.asp

But, back to tkret's original point...there really should be AEDs in both squares and other larger common areas and perhaps at the country clubs.

We at Bainbridge Villa's (Village of Hadley) have purchased and own 2 AED with pagers. Cost per household was $100.00. Total collected was $5,600. There will be free lessons given on the use of the machines and CPR. The units will be strategically placed at each end of the Villa property.

At our monthly neighborhood Ladies Club meeting, we had a gentleman from the Villages Fire Department/Rescue give a talk and demonstration on the new CPR. He states that you no longer have to do the breaths--that most people are hesistant to do this on a stranger in these days and times with all the hepatitis, HIV, etc. He also stated that bad CPR is better than no CPR as the person is dead. The main objective is to keep the oxygen flowing through the body until the EMT's arrive and can take over. This can be done with 100 chest compressions--2 inches deep--per minute. He also suggested to think about the song "Staying Alive" from the John Travolta disco movie as the rhythm to use to time the compressions. He demonstrated the AED device and it basically tells you exactly what to do as it "talks" and has diagrams for placement of pads. (They do have classes once a month--I believe he said there was a $20 fee).

Are there any golf ambassadors out there? I work for GMS, the company running golf course operations, and at one time, that is exactly what the ambassadors were told to do. Make the notifications as quickly as possible, but not to interfere otherwise. Please correct me if I am wrong.

As far as Good Samaritain Laws, does Florida have these laws and if it does, are they comparable to other states?