SALF Joins Illinois Lieutenant Governor in Encouraging Financial Support for AEDs

February 17, 2006

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Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn

Friday, February 17, 2006 – This Tuesday, Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn encouraged public financial support of the Colleen O’Sullivan Law, which requires all public schools and universities, health clubs, and indoor park district facilities to possess at least one automated external defibrillator (AED) and have staff trained in its use.  Governor Rod Blagojevich signed the law in 2004.

Quinn began his announcement by recounting the famous Talmud quote, “He who saves one life saves the world entire” and called the AED a “miraculous machine.”  He encouraged Illinois citizens to contribute any amount they can to the Heartsaver AED Fund.  The fund, established in February of 2005, provides 50/50 matching grants for donations that are given toward the purchase of the required AEDs.

An AED is a computerized medical device that analyzes a person’s heart rhythm.  If required, the AED verbally instructs the person operating it to give the victim an electric shock.  “It is something that people can learn very quickly,” Quinn said of AED training.

According to the Heart Rhythm Foundation, sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is a leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for an estimated 325,000 deaths each year. With the current national survival rate for sudden cardiac arrest at 5% and Chicago’s rate at only 1.8%, Quinn announced that his goal is “to make AEDs as common as fire extinguishers in public places.”

The Save A Life Foundation (SALF) is working with Quinn to do just that. In addition to donating AEDs to various schools throughout Chicagoland, SALF also provides free training to public schoolchildren in the use of AEDs, as well as the basics of Life Sustaining First Aid (LSFA), including CPR, the Heimlich maneuver, and bleeding control. All SALF instructors are EMS personnel who know first-hand the need for bystander intervention. Says SALF’s president Carol Spizzirri, “These children are now empowered with the tools they need to help save a life."

Hannah Schacht

Hannah Schacht was present on Tuesday to share the story of her sister, Sara Kathleen Schacht, an eighteen-year-old who died from sudden cardiac arrest in 2003. Hannah has helped her mother, Erin Anderegg, raise enough funds to place over thirty AEDs in their community of Woodstock, IL. Lisa Tate, head nurse at Hannah’s high school, emphasized how difficult it is for school districts to fund the purchase of AEDs on their own. She thanked Sara’s family members for their fundraising efforts.

Seventy-seven-year-old Stan Nelson recalled how his life was saved three years ago by the use of an AED. After collapsing from sudden cardiac arrest at O’Hare airport, Nelson was revived within three minutes through AED use. “I owe my life to an AED,” he said.

Sherry Caffrey-Villari

Sherry Caffrey-Villari, director of the Chicago Heart Save Program at O’Hare, stated that the publicly accessible AEDs that O’Hare installed in 1999 have been responsible for saving the lives of 36 people. She described the O’Sullivan law as “fantastic” because it mandates AEDs in Chicago public schools. However, she said, more funding is needed to equip the schools with the life-saving devices.

Lieutenant Governor Quinn commented that survivors such as Nelson are testament to the fact that AEDs save lives. He thanked several organizations, including SALF, for their hard work in promoting the importance of AEDs. John Gramer, Director of Community Relations at Walgreens, presented Quinn with a $10,000 donation to the Heartsaver AED Fund, with the goal to “serve our patients and help them live long and prosperous lives.”

Quinn again emphasized that a donation to the fund of any amount is vital to the cause of saving lives. “Whether it’s $1 or $1,000, it all adds up,” he said.