Heart Safe La Plata putting “life saving” in the hands of the people

DURANGO, Colo. – It’s likely that La Plata County residents have a long list of “pluses” for living in the region, be it the natural beauty, access to outdoor recreation, friendliness of the community and more.
Enhanced emergency medical service can be added to that list. Heart Safe La Plata, a program of the not-for-profit La Plata County EMS Council, is seeing to the placement of AED (automatic external defibrillators) throughout the county – and the web of coverage, which includes average citizen training in CPR, is increasing.           
In a rural area with both an aging population and geographic “complexities” (as well as increasing vehicular traffic), calling 9-1-1 in the event of a medical emergency cannot always ensure that emergency personnel will arrive on the scene in time to save a life.
“With sudden cardiac arrest, the chance of survival is around 30 percent,” said J.T. Coyne, program coordinator of Heart Safe La Plata. “You add the AED and it gets to 75 percent. It’s definitely a good investment to increase the chance of survival.”
 
According to the American Heart Association, some 50,000 deaths per year could be prevented if defibrillators were widely available in public gathering places and people were trained to use the equipment. Thus, an impetus for Heart Safe La Plata.
“We started right here,” said EMS Chief Scott Sholes, one of the program’s founders, referencing the Training Room at the Durango Fire & Rescue Authority building in Bodo Park. “It grew out of the EMS Council’s idea to explore getting defibrillators out into the community. So we pulled together a group and wrote a successful grant. We were one of five nationwide to receive grants… It’s pretty remarkable.”
In 2004 the fledgling Heart Safe La Plata received a $60,000 HRSA (Heath Resources and Services Administration) Rural Health Grant entitled the Public Access to Defibrillation Demonstration Project. The intent of the grant was to support projects that would increase public access to emergency medical devices and services. With 1,700 square miles of mountainous terrain and remote areas, housing some 46,000 people, La Plata County was a natural for the award. The original application requested funds to place 40 AED units in the county. Heart Safe now has some 165 in place with a goal of adding 50 every year. (A complete listing of AED locations is included below.) 
“One of the aspects from the grant was for us to go to Washington DC,” said Sholes. “They wanted us to sit down and talk to each other – how can this (grant) be what we need to start a program, not just be the program. So we really had to start thinking about that.”
 

According to Sholes, “buy-in” has been the key to the program’s success. With bulk purchase, Heart Safe is able to purchase the AED units at a lower cost – dropping the per unit price from the standard $2500 to $1800. Heart Safe “partners,” which may be businesses, schools, non-profit organizations, churches, homeowners associations or any “group” that is interested in applying to participate, contribute $900 – half the cost.

“We also train six of their staff for free,” said Coyne, noting that standard cost for a community CPR class is $35 per person. “So that brings the price down even more.”
“We wanted the buy-in emotionally and financially,” added Sholes, explaining that by keeping staff trained, and involving staff in reporting and maintenance of the AED units, “nobody’s going to say, ‘I don’t remember what that’s all about.’ Nobody’s going to use it to hold the door open.”
Indeed, the whole idea is that the equipment be ready and used when needed. The required training helps with individuals’ comfort level when a medical emergency occurs.
“Back in June we had just finished training at Dalton Ranch and walked out of the class when someone said, ‘Someone’s having a heart attack on the course,’” said Coyne. “So they grabbed their AED and off they went. Two weeks later, someone was struck by lightning and it stopped their heart, and the staff responded again. In neither case did they have to do CPR, but they knew how to respond. The comfort level of the staff goes way up.”
The actual AED is simple to use – in fact so simple that in a test 6^th graders were able to do it successfully without adult intervention. Each unit is self-contained including pictures and a computer that walks a responder through use – everything from “Call for help” and “Remove clothing,” to “Don’t touch patient” and “shock.”
 
Once the responder removes the clothing on a victim who is unconscious and non-responsive, the responder places two pads on the victim, as indicated by very straight-forward drawings within the unit. The AED then takes over, checking for a heart rhythm in the body. If it detects a normal heart rate, it will not shock the patient.
“If it finds ventricular fibrillation, where the heart sits there and quivers, then it will advise to shock,” said Coyne. “With the trainer I can set up different scenarios. Once people have done it once and realize how easy it is, it takes the mystery and the fear out of it.”
Recently added to the program was partnership with the Dispatch Center. According to Sholes, those who agree to install an AED also agree to respond to cardiac arrests in a specified circumference surrounding their business or organization. By utilizing technology, the Dispatch Center, once receiving a 9-1-1 call for assistance, can immediately view the location of the nearest AED on their computer screen. A call can then be made to the partner.
“”They often can get there faster,” said Coyne.
 “This came out of real tragedy,” added Sholes. “You can imagine, someone comes out of the Rec Center and gets a little woozy and they go down in the parking lot. Dispatch will often get multiple calls from cell phones because everyone is standing outside. But no one is going inside where right inside the door might be a trained person and the AED equipment.”
The flag alert on the Dispatch screen would have ensured that the trained Rec Center staff could have immediately responded to the parking lot.
“Paramedics automatically feel so much safer when they know someone has done some preliminary care (to a patient),” said Coyne. “If you see someone doing CPR, you know your chances of being successful (with the patient) are better.”
The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad was the first local business to sign on with Heart Safe, purchasing units for all trains and additional units for the museum and depot. In the winter, some of the units that regularly ride the summer trains are taken to Durango Mountain Resort and placed in the Ski Patrol buildings on the mountain. DMR also has units in all its hotels and in security.
Any location that has a great deal of traffic throughout the day, or where large groups congregate, is a good candidate for the AEDs. For example, Fort Lewis College has 11 units; all the City and County buildings have them in place; plus the Southern Ute Tribe has committed with all their tribal buildings. When the new casino/hotel opens, it will include roughly one AED per floor.
“So the goal with our rural health program is to disperse these out in the community so that the response time for an AED is decreased,” reminded Coyne. “If you get an AED on within the first three minutes and the shock is successful and they convert back to a normal heart rhythm, they almost have no side effects. But every minute that you delay you lose about 10 percent survivability.”
The Heart Safe board of directors, which in addition to Sholes, includes Patty Egger, Amy Knight, Barbara Lawson and Mark Rich, is now working with Coyne to target “categories.” The group successfully placed units in all the schools in the county and is currently approaching churches. Thus far Christ the King Lutheran and First United Methodist have committed.
Because of solid fiscal management and good investment, Heart Safe continues to work off its initial grant to provide AED units, and sustains the remainder of the program through CPR and other related classes.
“We don’t do any fundraising,” said Coyne, who is the organization’s only paid staff person, (though CPR instructors do receive payment). “Our fundraising is our CPR training. Durango Fire & Rescue used to offer community classes, so they let us take over the classes and use their training room. It’s been a wonderful partnership and has been enough to sustain us. The program is definitely alive and well and meeting all of our goals.”
To learn more about Heart Safe La Plata, or look into acquiring an AED, contact Coyne at 970.382.6039.