AED Deliveries Begin Thursday, December 16

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

In keeping with its promise to deliver Automatic External Defibrillators (AED) to local police departments and other first responders by the end of the year, The Reading Hospital Regional Heart Center and the Friends of The Reading Hospital, will begin providing AEDs this week. Deliveries are scheduled through Wednesday, December 29.

Wyomissing, Birdsboro, West Reading, Robeson, Central Berks, and Exeter police departments will be among the first municipalities to receive the new devices as part of the HeartSafe Berks County campaign. Deliveries will begin at 9 a.m. Thursday morning, December 16.

By the end of this week, nearly 90 AEDs will have been distributed to 11 police departments.  More than 225 AEDs will be delivered county-wide by year's end.

The Reading Hospital Regional Heart Center and the Friends of The Reading Hospital announced the HeartSafe Berks County initiative last month at the Berks County Police Chiefs’ meeting. The first phase of the initiative is to provide an AED, free of charge, for each police cruiser in the county. The objective of this phase is to assure that first responders have the equipment needed to prevent death associated with sudden cardiac arrest.

At an approximate cost of $1,500 per unit, the Hospital also expects to replace 86 older AED units with the less bulky, easier-to-use models.

HeartSAFE Berks County focuses on four key areas:

• Calling 911 immediately
• Performing CPR
• Using a defibrillator
• Advanced emergency medical care

Another key component of the program is to provide AED and CPR training to members of the community and in locations where AEDs will be placed.