Demonstration of the AED Units.

The Marshfield area has become a more heart-safe community thanks to the addition of six Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) donated by the Foundation of Saint Joseph's Hospital and coordinated through four participants of Leadership Marshfield.

The purpose of Leadership Marshfield, a program of the Marshfield Area Chamber Foundation, is to identify potential leaders in the community and provide a training program to enhance their ability to function as more effective leaders. As part of the program, participants identify a community issue and work to resolve it.

One of the groups this year determined that there was a need for additional AEDs in the Marshfield community. AEDs are devices that are easily used by individuals when there is a victim of a heart attack. After researching possible funding sources, they approached the Foundation of Saint Joseph's Hospital, which approved funding for the six AEDs, at a total cost of $12,000.

Paul Kapla (far left), Director of Rehab Services at Saint Joseph's Hospital, and Sara Yaeger both of Leadership Marshfield Class 2003 present the AED units to Sheriff Kurt Heuer.

Sudden cardiac arrest strikes without warning. Most people don't survive because treatment is not readily available. Defibrillation is the single most effective treatment.

"The Foundation Board of Directors were impressed by the state and national statistics on lives saved by using AEDs," stated Ann Boson, Manager of the Foundation of Saint Joseph's Hospital. "Granting funds to add more AED units to our community not only meets our mission to improve the health of our community, they could literally save hundreds of lives over time."

One of the AED units was given to the Saint Joseph's Hospital Therapy & Performance Center and Dialysis Center, located just north of the city on Northridge Street. Certified Athletic Trainers of Sports Medicine of Marshfield, a service of Saint Joseph's Hospital and Marshfield Clinic, will use three others on a rotating basis at school sporting events.

The final two machines were donated to the Wood County Sheriff's Department. Members of the Leadership Marshfield group were Paul Kapla and Judy Brown, representing Saint Joseph's Hospital; Donna Eckes, of Roehl Trucking; and Sara Yaeger, of Merck & Company.