News and Information for the community served by Huron Valley Ambulance 

News and Information

April 30, 2003

The HVA Board of Trustees has approved a two-year grant program, aimed at promoting the use of automated defibrillators by police and fire departments. If applied quickly, these units (known as AEDs) can restore a heartbeat in many patients who suffer sudden death.

HVA has carried and used defibrillators on its own ambulances since 1982, and most fire stations have been AED equipped since the early 1990s. But survival rates have remained low according to the Washtenaw Medical Control Authority, the agency that monitors clinical care in the county. In 2001, the last year of complete data, only 10% of patients in Washtenaw County survived sudden death. This percentage is higher than the national average of 7%, but it is well below what other communities are achieving. The National Center for Early Defibrillation (NCED) suggests that a reasonable survival target for most communities should be 20%.

HVA has made prehospital cardiac care a priority in recent years. In 2000, our organization invested $855,000 in state of the art 12-lead ECG equipment for our entire ambulance fleet. This allows HVA paramedics to diagnose heart attacks in the field and it gives hospitals extra time to activate cardiac reperfusion teams. Most of this cost was funded by community donations to HVA.

In 2001, HVA provided 17 automated defibrillators to “at-risk” public locations, including schools, recreation centers, and churches in the community.

But 75% of all sudden deaths occur in the home, according to Dale Berry, HVA’s President and CEO. HVA’s goal through this grant program is to improve the community’s response by encouraging the use of defibrillators by police officers — often the closest responders in neighborhoods where sudden death occurs.

“We recognize that local units of government are having financial challenges right now, so we are trying to do what we can to help them afford this technology”, Berry says.

Under the grant program, HVA will provide up to $1,000 for each defibrillator. HVA has also negotiated a group purchasing price of about $2,000 per unit. HVA will also provide any necessary training for agencies who add this capability.

“Defibrillation is now taught as a part of the CPR training that each police officer must periodically take,” said Berry. “We are willing to provide paramedic instructors to help with this as well.”

HVA also wants to make sure that every fire station is also equipped with a modern AED. Though most fire stations have a defibrillator, HVA is making the grant program to fire departments where the equipment may be aging.

“Some fire departments have been providing defibrillation for over 10 years,” Berry said. “If their equipment is getting old, we want to be helpful to them as well.”

For additional information about automated defibrillation, or to receive a grant application, please call HVA Administrative Services Manager Jane Giffin at 734-477-6298.