Beaumont Health System's AED donation helps save lives
Grace Christian Church in Sterling Heights recipient of AED
Beaumont Health System and the American Heart Association are partnering to purchase and donate Automated External Defibrillators, or AEDs, to community organizations to help save lives. Grace Christian Church in Sterling Heights received a donated AED on April 20, the latest organization to benefit from the Beaumont/AHA program.
An AED is an emergency medical device that delivers an electrical charge to someone who is experiencing a life-threatening, abnormal heart rhythm or sudden cardiac arrest. The device automatically diagnoses the heart rhythm and determines if a shock is needed. The preset electrical charge will only be administered by the device if a fatal arrhythmia is detected. An AED device costs approximately $2,000.
“A comprehensive AED program providing CPR and early defibrillation leads to higher survival rates in communities,” says Douglas Westveer, M.D., chief, Cardiovascular Services at Beaumont Hospital, Troy. “Donating an AED unit to Grace Christian Church, along with on-site training for the staff, could someday save the life of a mother, father or child in our community.
"Thanks to committed and devoted community partners such as the American Heart Association and the generosity of Beaumont, Grace Christian Church will now be better prepared to handle cardiac emergencies,” says Nicholas Boork, associate pastor. “We are truly thankful to Beaumont and the American Heart Association."
Beaumont is Michigan’s, and one of the nation’s, most experienced providers of heart care, ranking on U.S. News & World Report’s 2011-12 “America’s Best Hospitals” list for cardiology and heart surgery. The Beaumont Heart Center is a comprehensive, state-of-the-art facility that’s dedicated to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of heart problems. Beaumont’s Ernst Cardiovascular Center includes six specialty clinics offering advanced and minimally invasive treatments for heart valve disease, atrial fibrillation, congestive heart failure, aortic aneurysm and dissection, plus preventive screening for adults and high school students. Beaumont’s Ministrelli Women’s Heart Center is the first in Michigan devoted exclusively to the prevention, diagnosis, and research of heart disease in women.
Media Tips
News story ideas for reporters, producers and editors.
A Beaumont media relations contact is always available. Call the main office from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays. After hours, weekends and holidays, call 248-898-5000 and ask for contact information for the media relations representative on-call.
