Santas Come with Lifesaving Present

When recently called Chief Jeff Howell, he recognized the anxiousness in her voice.

Over a two-week period at the , two 911 calls were made to assist members with potentially life-threatening health issues.

“When I hear about that (the two incidents), it raises a red flag,” Howell said. “It’s our obligation to provide training and equipment to help them. When she called, I knew it was the least we could do for her."

Tuesday, Howell and five fire department personnel donned Santa hats and brought Schachtel an early holiday gift – an automated external defibrillator that is becoming more commonplace in schools, airports, churches and other public institutions across the country.

Research backs up its importance. A 2010 study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology indicated the use of an AED before paramedics arrive increased the odds of survival by 80 percent.

This was the first time Schachtel called for emergency assistance in since being named director about a year ago. But when she opened the box to unveil the AED from the fire department, it wasn’t the first time she has seen one nor heard of its impact.

“I’ve seen the machines, I know they can be lifesaving,” Schachtel said. “If everyone is trained, then you hope no matter who is in the building — because we’re not all here all the time — that you’re able to respond to the situation.”

In the first instance, Schachtel was showing a volunteer the lending closet where they keep wheel chairs and other adaptive devices. “Ironically I was telling her I had been here almost a year and we haven’t had any 911 calls and the staff tells me they rarely happen,” she said.

Just then one of the exercise instructors came up from the basement floor where the exercise room is located to say one of her pupils wasn’t feeling well.

“She wasn’t unconscious, but very weak,” Schachtel said. “She didn’t lose consciousness, but she kept getting more faint. She didn’t think we needed to call 911, but I always err on the side of caution.”

The 82-year-old woman probably had overdone it, taking the class just after returning from a two-week vacation.

“I think she pushed a little too much,” Schachtel said. “She revived and was 100 percent stable. The paramedics recommended she go get checked at the hospital, but she said she was fine. I watched her and kept her another 30 minutes and she was solid. She got in her car and drove home; we asked her to call us and she was fine.”

In the second case, a foursome was in the activity room playing cards when one of the players lost consciousness.

“These people knew each other well, which turned out to be a good thing,” Schachtel said. “They told us this had happened to her before. She has atrial fibrillation.”

Paramedics were called, and while they waited for them to arrive, the dispatcher told them to move the woman to the floor.

“We got cushions from the couch and did get her down,” Schachtel said. “They checked her blood pressure and it was 80 over 50. She did go to the hospital.”

Firefighter/paramedic Mike Mounts demonstrated how to use the AED to Schachtel and her staff, and will return after the holidays to conduct a more thorough training.

“Don’t be afraid of it,” Mounts told them. “You can’t hurt anyone. The good it can do far outweighs the possibility of someone getting hurt.”