AEDS-Driving the Message Home

AEDS-Driving the Message Home

March 2002
Volume I, Number 9

Imagine if individuals who purchased automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) for personal protection were also able to systematically offer these same units for public use during a cardiac emergency. Here is how it could happen.

Imagine IF:

Participants always kept their AEDs in their cars.
Participants in each state banded together to obtain specially designated public access defibrillator (PAD) license plates and rearview mirror hangtags.
Participants with such plates had permission from their respective states (and handicap organizations) to temporarily "take over" one handicapped parking space per lot by covering the existing "Reserved Parking" sign with a PAD slipcover sign. The slipcover would be in place only while the participant's car was parked in the commandeered spot.
During a public cardiac emergency, Good Samaritans called 911 and then looked for a nearby AED-equipped PAD car.
Good Samaritans tilting back a participant's spring-loaded license plate holder were to find the participant's cell phone number to call and/or instructions on how to enter the car (e.g., hidden key, car door combination).
An American Heart Association chapter in each state lobbied their respective legislatures to be allowed to administer this PAD program in their state.
The cost of equipping PAD cars were substantially reduced through group purchasing so more people could participate.
The American Automobile Association (AAA) lobbied for such legislation.
The American Association of Retired People (AARP) also lobbied for such legislation.
You lobbied for such legislation.

--Paul SerVaas, Contributing Editor, The Saturday Evening Post

The concept of nationwide Neighborhood Heart Watch programs was conceived by Dr. Douglas Zipes, an electro-physiologist, director of the cardiology division at Indiana University School of Medicine, and past president of the American College of Cardiology. As he has pointed out, one's chances of surviving a cardiac arrest in a New York City high-rise could be immediately improved if the building housed an AED. Crowded New York streets make it impossible for an ambulance to arrive in time to save a victim of cardiac arrest. Dr. Zipes' concept of Neighborhood Heart Watch would also be especially useful in rural areas.

The Saturday Evening Post Society is establishing a trial model Neighborhood Heart Watch in the village of Wynnedale in Indiana. The Foundation's Fitness Farm will conduct classes each month to teach CPR and the use of defibrillators. Neighbors will attend sessions as their schedules permit and be shown the location of available defibrillators.