Community Heart Watch is proud to announce that its new CPR and AED mobile training unit will begin serving Fairfield, Hocking and Perry counties beginning this spring.
The mobile training unit is a 14’ trailer equipped with CPR manikins and AED training devices. Throughout the year, Community Heart Watch members will bring the unit to various community events to provide hands-on training for CPR and AED use. The trailer is already booked for seven events this summer, including the Perry County Home & Garden Show on May 6 & 7 and Festival Fair Day in Lancaster on July 23.
FMC cardiologist John Lazarus, MD, PhD, Clinical Champion of Community Heart Watch, said bystander intervention can double or triple cardiac arrest survival rates. Unfortunately, less than 15% of the community is trained in CPR and AED use, with even lower rates in rural areas. “Our innovative new mobile unit will bring training to those in our community who wouldn’t normally seek out training on their own, or who live in rural areas where they do not have access to training,” Dr. Lazarus said.
Greenfield Township Fire Chief Brad Smith, EMS Champion of Community Heart Watch, said the best outcomes for cardiac arrest, which affects nearly 356,000 Americans each year, occur when CPR is started and an AED is used within 4-6 minutes of collapse. “On average, it takes emergency medical services 7-8 minutes to arrive on the scene of an emergency and even longer in more rural areas, so it is critical that community members who witness a cardiac arrest call 911 immediately, start CPR and locate the closest AED while waiting for EMS to arrive,” he said.
The trailer was made possible through generous donations from corporate sponsors: Fairfield Federal, Park National Bank, Friendly Bremen Banking Center, Stebelton Snider, the Rotary Club of Lancaster and Fairfield Medical Center, as well as several individual contributors.
“This mobile training unit will be an invaluable asset to the community for years to come,” said Matt Wideman, executive vice president of Fairfield Federal Savings & Loan and Business Champion of Community Heart Watch. “We are grateful for the support of our sponsors, and their recognition of the importance of making our community more heart safe.”
Community Heart Watch is a collaborative effort of FMC, EMS, businesses, schools and medical providers in Fairfield, Hocking and Perry Counties focused on saving lives from cardiac arrest through education, training and improving access to life-saving AEDs. To learn more about Community Heart Watch, visit fmchealth.org or contact community outreach coordinator Teri Watson at teri.watson@fmchealth.org.
Learn more about Community Heart Watch, our mobile CPR training unit and how you can save lives from cardiac arrest.