{"id":372643,"date":"2010-02-28T11:18:10","date_gmt":"2010-02-28T16:18:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chicagopressrelease.com\/press-releases\/state-of-illinois-lobbies-for-defibrillators"},"modified":"2010-02-28T11:18:10","modified_gmt":"2010-02-28T16:18:10","slug":"state-of-illinois-lobbies-for-defibrillators","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/372643","title":{"rendered":"State of Illinois Lobbies For Defibrillators"},"content":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO\u00a0(WBBM)\u00a0 — A defibrillator nearby can save a life in the event of a heart attack, and the state of Illinois is trying to encourage their installation and use.<\/p>\n

\nThe simplicity of the defibrillators, and the life-saving results, were underscored as the the state handed out its annual “Heartsaver Hero” awards to those who used them — and saved 10 people’s lives.<\/p>\n

\nWhen Jack Hummel collapsed last June 26 at the Edward Health and Fitness Center, in Naperville, staff knew how to use the automated defibrillator unit mounted on the wall.<\/p>\n

\nHummel has since been fitted for a pacemaker, but said he knows how fortunate he was.<\/p>\n

\n“If it wasn’t for these three people, I wouldn’t be here,” he said. “They did a super job and I’m very proud of it.”<\/p>\n

\nAfter fitness center staff member Eric Gustafson used the defibrillator on Hummel, staff members Tracy Trimble and Laura LaRue performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation until paramedics could arrive.<\/p>\n

\n“It’s such a thrill to see him walk in that door every time we do,” LaRue said.<\/p>\n

\nLance Lawson’s story is similar – to a point. When he collapsed in December while playing basketball with friends at the Naperville YMCA, only lifeguard Justin Gedner could make the defibrillator work.<\/p>\n

\n“He was about the 15th person (to try),” Lawson said. <\/span> “All the guys who I played with, none of them had any success with it.”<\/p>\n

\nLawson said he was told afterward that the leads for the defibrillator’s paddles were not placed properly.<\/p>\n

\nSaving Lawson may have changed Gedner’s life as well. Gedner, a student at the College of DuPage, said he has always had an interest in medicine.<\/p>\n

\n“After saving Lance I really want to be a paramedic-firefighter now,” he said.<\/p>\n

\nMany of the machines give automated verbal directions explaining how to use them and whether a second shock is needed. Defibrillators have been required by state law since 2005 in schools, as well as at indoor park district and physical fitness facilities. Gov. Pat Quinn signed a measure six weeks ago extending the requirement to all indoor and outdoor sporting events.<\/p>\n

\nThe state maintains a Heartsaver Fund that provides matching grants to schools and park districts to assist in the purchase of automated defibrillators.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Read the original article from WBBM News Radio<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services<\/a><\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO\u00a0(WBBM)\u00a0 — A defibrillator nearby can save a life in the event of a heart attack, and the state of Illinois is trying to encourage their installation and use. The simplicity of the defibrillators, and the life-saving results, were underscored as the the state handed out its annual “Heartsaver Hero” awards to those who used […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-372643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=372643"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372643\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=372643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=372643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=372643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}