HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital recently donated three Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) to the Richard E. Workman Sports and Wellness Complex to assist them in emergency preparedness. In addition, Community Programs instructors from the hospital provided staff members of the Sports Complex with training on CPR and how to use the AED.
An AED is a portable defibrillator designed to be automated such that it can be used by those without substantial medical training who are responding to a cardiac emergency. The defibrillator delivers a brief electroshock to the heart through electrodes (pads) placed on the chest. With the AED, it can check a person’s heart rhythm through the pads, recognize a rhythm that requires a shock, and advise the rescuer when a shock is needed, using clear and concise voice prompts on placing the pads and when to step away before the shock is delivered.
(Left to right) Jake Junghanel, General Manager of the Richard E. Workman Sports and Wellness Complex, and Dawn Hoover, RN, HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital Community Programs Instructor, are shown with one of the three Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) donated to the Sports Complex by the hospital. St. Anthony’s also partners with the Workman Sports Complex by leasing space for their Physical Rehabilitation and Wellness services.
Cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death in the U.S. According to the American Heart Association, each year, emergency medical services (EMS) treat about 360,000 victims of cardiac arrest before they reach the hospital, Less than 10 percent of those victims survive. Using an AED is an effective treatment for restoring a regular heart rhythm during sudden cardiac arrest and is an easy to operate tool for someone with no medical background. And with cardiac arrest, time is of the essence. The American Heart Association estimates that a victim’s chance of survival decreases by 7 to 10 percent for every minute that passes without defibrillation.
Jake Junghanel, General Manager of the Workman Sports and Wellness Complex, expressed his appreciation to HSHS St. Anthony’s for the donation. “We are so grateful to St. Anthony’s for the donation of the AEDs,” he said. “Because of the physical activity of our members, and our pool, it is critical that we have the AEDs available and the staff trained to use them, should the need arise,” he explained.
For more information about HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital, visit St. Anthony’s Web site at stanthonyshospital.org. HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital is part of the Southern Illinois Division of Hospital Sisters Health System, which also includes HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Belleville, HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital in Breese, and HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital in Highland.
About Hospital Sisters Health System
Hospital Sisters Health System’s (HSHS) mission is to reveal and embody Christ’s healing love for all people through our high quality, Franciscan health care ministry. HSHS provides state-of-the-art health care to our patients and is dedicated to serving all people, especially the most vulnerable, at each of our 13 Local Systems and physician practices in Illinois (Belleville, Breese, Decatur, Effingham, Highland, Litchfield, and Springfield) and Wisconsin (Chippewa Falls, Eau Claire, Oconto Falls, Sheboygan, and two in Green Bay). HSHS is sponsored by Hospital Sisters Ministries, and Hospital Sisters of St. Francis is the founding institute. For more information about HSHS, visit www.hshs.org. For more information about Hospital Sisters of St. Francis, visit www.hospitalsisters.org.
