The Lake Villa Rescue Squad announces the next evolution of our Project Heart Saver Program. Through the gracious support of the Lake Villa Fire Protection District, we are bound in an exciting, cooperative effort by introducing the Public Access Defibrillation Program. Through Project Heart Saver, we obtained the necessary equipment and training necessary to significantly improve the early diagnosis and treatment of acute heart attack victims. With the availability of the Public Access Defibrillation (PAD) Program, we are calling upon the citizens of our community to become a part of the most important link in the chain of survival for those who may suffer a sudden cardiac arrest episode.

Sudden cardiac arrest is one of the leading causes of death among adults in North America, claiming the lives of a quarter of a million people in the United States alone. Many lives could have been saved if immediate CPR and defibrillation were provided. Decreasing the time from collapse-to-treatment increases the chances of survival. Our PAD program is designed to significantly improve the survival rates of sudden cardiac arrest victims. Time and equipment accessibility, are the keys to unlocking the doorway to success.

Each year, the Lake Villa Rescue Squad encounters approximately twenty to thirty sudden cardiac arrests. Unfortunately, survival rates from treatable causes of cardiac arrest have averaged only about 6%. In our effort to improve upon the success rate, we our encouraging the training of more citizens in both the public and private sectors to be trained in CPR. We will be upgrading our abilities to offer more opportunities to become trained in CPR.

Also integral to the success of the PAD program will be the deployment of numerous Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) within our schools, various public buildings and recreational areas, commercial buildings, places of worship and an assortment of health care facilities. Additional AED units will be secured to supplement the units already in use by the Lindenhurst Police Department and Lake Villa Police Department, so that every police car is equipped with an AED. By inundating our community with these simple-to-operate AED devices, we are offering the opportunity to greatly reduce the effective time needed to deliver vital, lifesaving defibrillation when seconds count.

We feel the need and the obligation to protect our community by providing the victims of sudden cardiac arrest with the ability to have rapid access to CPR and defibrillation. We believe that rapid access to CPR and defibrillation will save additional lives, realizing a potential 200% to 300% increase over our past save rates. The citizens of our community deserve to have access to this critical lifesaving treatment opportunity. The Lake Villa Rescue Squad strives to provide the highest level of pre-hospital emergency medical care. The PAD program extends that vital care beyond the confines of our ambulances, out into the community, for use by anyone, when seconds can make the difference in survivability.

I truly understand the frustration of not having this equipment immediately available, as a close family member recently suffered a sudden cardiac arrest episode at our home, just weeks ago. Having an AED immediately available may have changed the outcome. We’ll miss Michele dearly. Please provide the necessary support to make this project a reality. Let’s save some lives!