Franciscan Health Lafayette distributed 18 different non-profit organizations a total of 28 automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and the opportunity to receive CPR training.
The Revive & Survive program was started in 2005 and began to provide free AEDs to applicable non-profits in 2006. Since then, 583 AEDs have been given out.
“If something does happen, an AED can increase survival rates by over 80%, so they are so important,” said Kate Ullem, grant coordinator at Franciscan Health for the Revive and Survive program. “CPR can help somebody if they do go into cardiac arrest, but with AEDs, the shock delivered can truly increase someone’s survival rate. Anyone can use it. All you have to do is turn it on and listen to the prompts.”
Since 2006, the Kathryn Weil Center (now Community Education, a part of the Community Health Improvement Department at Franciscan Health) has been partnering with North Central Health Services (NCHS) to implement the Revive & Survive Program. The program awards not-for-profit organizations located in Benton, Carroll, Clinton, Fountain, Montgomery, Tippecanoe, Warren, and White counties AEDs for their facilities. Franciscan Community Education manages the program implementation and provides grantees with free CPR and AED training.
“We were awarded three AEDs, and we were really excited about that,” said Caren Crum, Extension educator, Carroll County Extension. “What if someone needed an AED and there wasn’t anything available? We thought this was super important since the Fairgrounds are highly trafficked, especially during the warmer months during the fair. This is an awesome, lifesaving opportunity.”
With the help of external funding, Franciscan Health is able to provide AEDs and CPR training to applicable non-profits who apply for the program.
“This is a great opportunity for us to collaborate with others in the community to achieve better mental health,” said Stephen Horrocks, development director, Mental Health America, Wabash Valley. “It is really hard to have good mental health if we are not also conscious of our physical health. Having an AED on sight will be an absolute gamechanger for us. We not only want to help support our staff, who are doing really important work with people in crisis, but you never know how or when emergencies will happen. Having this as a resource is something that we value and it is a wonderful opportunity we have been afforded through Franciscan Health.”
The Revive & Survive program strives to expand public awareness of sudden cardiac arrest and increase survival rates by deploying life-saving AEDs to not-for-profit organizations.
“The program has been absolutely invaluable for our communities,” said Serena Johnston, program education manager at Franciscan Health, “Ultimately, we want to be able to empower our community members to act in an emergency. These AEDs we are issuing are easy to use. They are simple and it makes it so easy and so approachable.”
Revive & Survive aims to provide those suffering sudden cardiac arrest another chance at life by deploying life-saving AEDs to key locations where people live, work and play. This enables the first person on the scene, even someone with minimal training, to give a life-saving shock before paramedics arrive to deliver advanced emergency care.
