Clinic donates 3 AEDs to Pottsville schools
CONWAY — Conway Regional Medical Clinic-Pottsville has donated three automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to the Pottsville School District.
The AEDs, which are valued at $2,000 each, were presented to Pottsville School District Principal Houston Townsend and are available for use at Pottsville High School and Pottsville Middle School. AEDs can be used when a person is in sudden cardiac arrest.
Townsend said the three AEDs will fill a gap in the school district’s emergency coverage.
“We had a few AEDs but didn’t have enough to reach some of the secluded areas,” he said. The new AEDs will be available in the football field house, a cafeteria and a physical education gymnasium that is used by the community for peewee basketball.
“The other AEDs were just too far away from these areas to be helpful during an emergency,” Townsend said. “This is a blessing, and we are very thankful to Conway Regional for this donation.”
An AED is a device about the size of a laptop computer that analyzes the heart’s rhythm for abnormalities and, if necessary, directs the rescuer to deliver an electrical shock to the victim. This shock, called defibrillation, may help the heart to re-establish an effective rhythm of its own. A defibrillator is the only known device/technique that stops chaotic electrical heart activity to allow the heart to re-pace itself to a normal rhythm.
Alan Finley, Conway Regional Health System’s chief operating officer, was among those presenting the AEDs last week.
“The Pottsville School District was so kind as to give our clinic a temporary location this summer after it was damaged by a tornado,” Finley said. “Once we learned of the need for AEDs, this was a very appropriate way of saying thanks for their generosity.
“We are thankful that we could provide this type of lifesaving equipment to Pottsville. We hope that no one at the school has to use an AED, but it will be there in case of an emergency.”
Townsend said the Pottsville School District has never had to use any of its AEDs.
“This is one more advantage that we are excited to provide the Pottsville community,” said Billy Henry, director of the Conway Regional Primary and Specialty Care Network. “Our clinic staff members live and work in the River Valley area, and we are blessed to be able to offer the community these lifesaving resources.”
Conway Regional Health System has donated 59 other AEDs to schools, ballparks and fitness centers throughout the area since 2008. The AEDs are funded through the Conway Regional Health Foundation, www.conwayregional.org/ foundation.