This is an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED). It is attached to the wall near the main reception desk of the building where I work, Eden Prairie City Center. I’ve been trained by the Eden Prairie Fire Department how to use the AED safely and effectively in case one of my coworkers or a guest to our building goes down with a sudden cardiac arrest – which is still the number one cause of death in the United States.
The City has been doing its part to encourage the owners of all public and private buildings in Eden Prairie to purchase AEDs. We’d like to eventually see the AED as commonly as we see fire extinguishers. That’s what the City’s Heart Safe Eden Prairie program is all about.
We started phase 1 of the Heart Safe Eden Prairie program in 2006 by raising over $60,000 from the community to purchase and install AEDs in the public buildings around the city. We are launching phase 2 of the program this week, which also happens to be National CPR and AED Awareness Week, in order to spread the reach of the program into private buildings where we all eat, shop and work.
The AED is easy to use. The Red Cross has comes out with a new campaign about AEDs called “Saving a Life is as Easy as A-E-D“. Check that link. There is a lot of helpful information on their website.
We believe the Heart Safe Eden Prairie program can have a positive impact on the health of the residents of our community. By placing more AED’s in the community, we are decreasing the proximity of an AED to people who may suffer a sudden cardiac arrest. We know that decreasing the time between an arrest and the implementation of the first shock from an AED is critical to survival. If the first shock is delivered within the first minute following an arrest, there is a 90% chance of survival. That survival percentage decreases 10% for every minute of delay of the first shock following the arrest.
So having as many AEDs around us in Eden Prairie is important. We saw another first hand example of that just a couple of weeks ago in a local retail store when an employee suffered a cardiac arrest in the store. His coworkers called 911. Our Police Officers rushed to the scene. One of our Assistant Fire Chiefs was close behind. Our Police and Fire vehicles all carry mobile AEDs. Our Police Officers shocked the person and restored his life. By the time the ambulance showed up, he was conscious and talking. That retailer placed an order to have AEDs installed in the store the next day.
At last night’s City Council meeting, the Council issued a proclamation declaring June to be Heart Safe Eden Prairie month. I hope you will never need one, but if you do we want their to be an AED near you in Eden Prairie.
For more information about the Heart Safe Eden Prairie program or how you can help, please contact the City offices at our main reception number at 952-949-8300.
