LAFAYETTE — At a breakfast gathering this morning for the Revive & Survive program, Franciscan Health Lafayette provided 20 different non-profit organizations a total of 33 automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and the opportunity to receive CPR training.
Since 2006, the Kathryn Weil Center (now Community Education, a part of Community Health Improvement Department at Franciscan Health) has been partnering with North Central Health Services (NCHS) to implement the Revive & Survive Program.
The program awards not-for-profit organizations located in Benton, Carroll, Clinton, Fountain, Montgomery, Tippecanoe, Warren, and White counties AEDs for their facilities.
Franciscan Community Education manages the program implementation and provides grantees with free CPR and AED training.
“The Revive and Survive program has been really great for us,” said Kathy Martin of Healthy Communities of Clinton County, who attended the breakfast. “Not only are we going to get two AEDs for our facilities at Healthy Communities, but we have been able to get our entire staff trained in CPR and AED use. It has been really great for our organization. The ripple effect from receiving AEDs is going to make our community safer and help save lives.”
With the help of external funding, Franciscan Health is able to provide AEDs and CPR training to applicable non-profits who apply for the program.
“Of the people with cardiac arrest who receive a shock from an AED in the first minute, 9 out of 10 live,” said Serena Johnston, Franciscan Health Education program manager and American Heart Association Training Center coordinator. “A very quick response time is necessary when cardiac arrest occurs and so ensuring that AEDs are immediately accessible in our local communities where people live, work, pray and play is crucial.”
The Revive & Survive program strives to expand public awareness of sudden cardiac arrest and increase survival rates by deploying life-saving AEDs to not-for-profit organizations.
Revive & Survive aims to provide those suffering sudden cardiac arrest another chance at life by deploying life-saving AEDs to key locations where people live, work and play. This enables the first person on the scene, even someone with minimal training, to give a life-saving shock before paramedics arrive to deliver advanced emergency care.
Additional information on the Revive & Survive program as well as the process to apply for an AED, can be found here.