Shimkus, Niebur Lead Children to Safety

Wednesday, December 29, 2004

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Illinois Congressman John Shimkus, who helped form a joint initiative for the inception of Enhance 911, also known as "E-911", which automatically provides a call-back number and the caller's location and allows citizens to activate an emergency response system, is now spearheading the campaign to emergency prepare the schoolchildren of Illinois.

As a co-sponsor of the federal earmark, Shimkus lobbied for the federal funds, which eventually led to the inception of the SALF Branch site at Anderson Hospital, Maryville, Illinois. Anderson will recruit emergency medical service (EMS) providers as their instructors.  The EMS providers will then train local students in pre-EMS, including life supporting first aid, at no cost to the schools or the children. 

From 1987 until his inauguration as Congressman in 1997, Shimkus taught at Metro-East Lutheran High School in Edwardsville, where emergencies often occurred.  "The training that Save A Life provides to children could one day save a life.  I am fully supportive of their efforts to teach youth the basics of first aid and I am pleased that a new office will be able to reach residents of southwest Illinois." - Congressman John Shimkus

Edwardsville Mayor Gary Niebur also welcomes the fusion of SALF into Anderson Hospital.  "I am extremely pleased with the partnership between Save A Life Foundation and Anderson Hospital.  The linking of these two organizations will be a tremendous asset to the people in this area, and having SALF programs readily available, especially to our schoolchildren, will be truly beneficial to our entire community," Niebur said.

Mayor Niebur, former President of the Illinois Municipal League, brought mayors from 30 surrounding cities to his office last year to fuse the relationship of SALF and Anderson Hospital.