IUPD receives defibrillators

IU Police Department and members of Bloomington Ambulance Services demonstrated the use of six new Automatic External Defibrillators Thursday afternoon. These six life-saving gifts were donated to the IUPD by the IU Foundation. \nAEDs are used to automatically analyze heart rhythm and allow an electric shock, when needed, to restore the heart's normal rhythm. \nTraining Officer David Rhodes demonstrated the defibrillation training process with Officer Shannon Ramey. Rhodes is in charge of training the current officers in AED use. He showed onlookers how easy the device is to use. Users turn the AED on, and it says exactly what to do. \n"At the scene, things can get hectic. This is one less thing you have to think about because the device prompts you and tells you exactly what to do," Rhodes said. \nAll IU police officers are already trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation. In addition, officers will go through three to five hours of training with the AEDs. CPR is not a substitute for defibrillation, according to the American Heart Association. CPR can only help keep a sudden cardiac arrest victim alive until defibrillation is administered. Defibrillation is the only treatment that can start the heart. \nIUPD is the only police department in Monroe County currently equipped with AEDs. Although several police departments across the state have the equipment, the Bloomington Police Department does not. \n"Police officers are almost always on the scene before the ambulance arrives," said David DeGroote, director of Bloomington Hospital Ambulance Service. \nCardiac arrest victims must receive defibrillation within seven to 10 minutes, according to the American Heart Association. The chance of survival is reduced by 10 percent each minute the defibrillation is delayed, the association stated in a press release. \nThis is why AEDs are so helpful, Rhodes said.\nIn cities where defibrillation is provided within five to seven minutes, the survival rate from sudden cardiac arrest is as high as fifteen percent, according to the American Heart Association. \nEarlier this year, junior Shana Anglin was part of this 15 percent. IUPD Officers Shannon Ramey and Paul Spicer, assistant manager of loss prevention operations, arrived at the Education Building Sept. 11 to find Anglin unconscious and without a pulse. The two performed CPR. DeGroote then used the defibrillator, and her heart started again. \nRamey, Spicer and DeGroote were all honored earlier this year by the American Heart Association's Operation Heartbeat for their key roles in saving Anglin's life. \n"The American Heart Association applauds IU's efforts to strengthen the Chain of Survival and to make the IU campus a safer place for students, staff, alumni and other visitors," Laura Hague, spokeswoman for Operation Heartbeat, said.\nThe IU Foundation got involved when Rhodes became a member of Operation Heartbeat Monroe County. One of Operation Heartbeat's primary objectives is to make defibrillators widely available for use. \nAEDs cost $2,500 to $3,000 each. IUPD was able to obtain these gifts from the IU Foundation because of concerned doctors such as Dr. Hugh Jessop, director of the IU Health Center. \nAfter a conversation with Rhodes, Jessop spoke with members of the foundation about obtaining these life-saving devices.\nCardiovascular disease is the number one killer in the United States, according to the American Heart Association. Sudden cardiac arrest claims about 225,000 adults in the U.S. each year, state the association's statistics. \nRhodes said the six new AEDS are the first step to making IU a safer place. \n"This is just the beginning in the life-saving process," he said. "We hope to someday have defibrillators in all public places"