Dee-Dee Patrick, MS, RN, Director, Kare Bears’ Health & Wellness
Do you know where this AED is located here in PebbleCreek? As you may be able to tell by the photo, it is mounted on an outside wall. Three of the 18 AEDs here in PebbleCreek are located outdoors. Do you know where they are? This does not include the one unit that is not stored in a cabinet yet carried in a small Igloo cooler, clearly marked “for emergencies”. Hint: Field of Dreams players know about this device.
An automatic external defibrillator (AED) is vital when a person suffers a cardiac arrest. This usually occurs when an electrical disturbance disrupts the heart so much that it stops beating. An AED can shock the heart back into a normal rhythm. Cardio-pulmonary resuscitation or continuous compression resuscitation (CPR/CCR) alone cannot accomplish this.
Even though we are fortunate enough to have the Goodyear Fire Department right outside our front gate, studies show that only 43% of victims survive if waiting for an emergency medical crew to deliver a shock to their heart. This compares with 65.5% survival rate of victims who receive bystander-administered AED. Time is vital in such events.
That is why Kare Bears made these units available where sporting events and physical exercise occur. AEDs are by both clubhouses near the fitness rooms, the Fitness Center on Tuscany, the pickleball court ramada, the tennis/bocce center building on Eagle’s Nest and tennis/sports building on Tuscany, the Oasis Pool, and the softball field. There are also AEDs located in both Pro Shops in each clubhouse to service the golf courses.
The other eight units are in the following areas: Creative Arts Center, both Guard Shacks, the LifeLong Learning Office, the Tuscany Falls Ballroom, the Renaissance Theater, Toscana’s Restaurant, and the AED in the picture is in the Activity Center courtyard (outside room 105).
An estimated 3,459 additional lives would be saved each year in the United States if every person who had a bystander-witnessed cardiac arrest in public received AED shocks from bystanders. PebbleCreek has 18 functioning and readily accessible AEDs. Know where they are located and how to use them!
Kare Bears’ Health & Wellness offers CPR/AED training and basic first aid several times a year. It is well worth the investment of your time and effort to attend one of these classes. Watch PebbleCreek communications for when this class will be offered.