MERCY HEALTH PARTNERS DONATES LIFE SAVING DEVICE TO
MUSKEGON WINTER SPORTS COMPLEX

Muskegon, Mich., January 5, 2010 – Mercy Health Partners’ (MHP), a regional leader in cardiovascular care, today donated an automated external defibrillator (AED) to the Muskegon Winter Sports Complex. The AED provides the complex with a life-saving device for those who suffer from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), which kills more than 450,000 Americans and is the leading cause of death in the country.

Each winter, the complex draws thousands of people who participate in outdoor physical activities, including Olympic luge, Nordic skiing, ice skating, hockey and other outdoor sports activities.

“AEDs can save lives,” said Rod Hayhurst, Director of Cardiovascular Services at MHP’s Mercy H.E.A.R.T. Center (Health Enhancement and Rehabilitative Therapy). “Sudden cardiac arrest can strike anyone and anywhere and at anytime. When AEDs are available, and used within the first minutes, up to 90 percent of SCA victims may survive; so it is tremendously important to have this technology made available to our community.”

The success of the use of an AED depends in large part on the cardiac condition of the patient, Hayhurst added.

AEDs analyze the cardiac condition of the distressed person, give the user step-by-step instructions and, if required, deliver a controlled electrostatic shock to the individual.. The device is portable and contains sophisticated electronics and user-friendly interfaces that are conducive to any non-clinically trained individual to safely deploy and use effectively to potentially save someone’s life.

The AED donation was made through Mercy’s H.E.A.R.T. Center’s Charles F. Schuler, Jr. Memorial Ride Fund, which provides direct community benefit for cardiovascular health in such ways as cardiac related health educational materials, patient exercise equipment and educational family health fairs for the community. Professional Med Team (PRO MED) Inc. helped deliver educational in-service training to the Winter Sports Complex staff on the proper use and maintenance of the AED device.

“This donation is part of our commitment to the communities we serve to help people get healthier and stay healthier – and we knew the Muskegon Winter Sports Complex is an excellent partner in our community goal of an active lifestyle” said Rod Hayhurst, Director of Cardiovascular Services. “As the region’s experts in cardiovascular care, we want to do everything we can to support and encourage cardiac health for the Lakeshore community, and that includes having the right emergency equipment available to have the opportunity to save lives.”

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