An addendum to this article has been added alongside the release of the April 2024 Issue:
A bit of information has to be added to last month’s article on the town’s new AEDs. The new cabinets installed outdoors have a keypad on them. The user must call 911 to get the code to punch into the keypad to open the cabinet and access the device.
Earlier AEDs installed indoors do not need a code; one simply opens the cabinet to remove the device. Of course, 911 should be called immediately in any case, so that professional help is on the way while the defibrillation is being performed.
Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) are potential life-saving devices for those suffering cardiac arrest, and Granby now has six of them installed and operational, with two others awaiting installation.
Before further discussing the AEDs, it is necessary to understand the difference between having a heart attack and having cardiac arrest. A heart attack is essentially a plumbing problem, involving constrictions or blockages in cardiac blood vessels. A heart attack can be minor and treated with minimally-invasive procedures and medications, or it can be a major event and require open heart surgery.
A cardiac arrest is essentially an electrical problem, occurring when the electrical activity of the heart is disrupted. The electrical activity is controlled by nodes of nervous tissue within the heart between the upper atrial and lower ventricular chambers. Cardiac arrest requires immediate attention or the person will probably not survive. This is why the AED is so important: it can correct that electrical disruption.
If you are thinking that you wouldn’t know how to use one, fear not. If you come upon a non-responsive victim and there is an AED nearby, you should immediately call 911 or designate someone to do that. Then you open the cabinet containing the AED, remove it and place it on the ground or floor next to the victim. The device audibly tells you exactly what to do and how to do it. You simply follow the steps.
Once you have placed the pads where the diagram illustrates, the machine assesses the patient’s condition. It may indicate that an electrical shock is not necessary. If it is, the machine guides you through the entire process. Of course, it is a benefit to take one of the courses made available by the Granby Ambulance Association or other organizations to help eliminate the anxiety you might feel when performing defibrillation for the first time.
With the ARPA money, the town purchased and installed AEDs and cabinets in December 2023. They are located in the Granby Public Library (main lobby), the town hall (main lobby); Granby Public Works in the kitchen, and in Salmon Brook Park on the outside of the main office building.
At the same time, Granby residents John and Linda Oates made a very generous donation to fill in some of the gaps in town where the devices might be needed: Ahrens Park, Holcomb Farm, the high school track, and the Rovers Field in Salmon Brook Park. The units at Ahrens Park and Holcomb Farm are installed and operational. The Ahrens Park unit is located under the pavilion and the one at Holcomb Farm is on the outside of the main barn at the site of the original office. The unit for the high school track will be installed by the public works department on the side of the snack shop at the entrance to the track. The unit at Rovers Field is delayed due to issues with the power source for the cabinet. DPW is working on that and investigating the use of solar power.
When asked what spurred the Oates donation, John said that the idea started about a year ago when he was watching the Buffalo Bills game in which Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest and survived in great part due to the almost immediate defibrillation. That got Oates thinking about whether Granby was adequately covered, so he contacted Chief Coupe of the Ambulance Association. She identified some of the gaps in coverage. Oates noted, “Linda and I decided that it would be a great way to honor my parents, Jim and Nancy Oates, for their long-time involvement in the community.”
The town approved $13,000 of ARPA money for the AED project. Close to $10,500 has been spent, with $2,500 set aside for the remaining installation costs.
AEDs are warrantied for eight years and have an estimated useful life of 8-10 years. Monthly inspections will be conducted by the Granby Ambulance Association.