AEDs Donated to Library

Over the course of National CPR and AED Awareness Week, three brand new life-saving AED devices were installed at the Bellaire Public Library. The Automated External Defibrillators will be placed in a readily-accessible location on each of the library’s three floors, to be used in case of an emergency. The AEDs are portable devices that check heart rhythm and treat Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA), sending an electric shock to the heart to try to restore a normal rhythm if needed. 

 

Dr. Vincent Kolenich, Library Board member and chair of the Library’s Health and Welfare committee explains, “AED devices are a critical component in increasing survival rates among SCA victims and the Library Board felt it important to provide quick access to an AED, whether that be on the top floor, the main floor, or the lower level of the Library.” More than 350,000 cardiac arrests occur outside of a hospital each year, and a victim’s chance of survival decreases by 7 to 10 percent for every minute that passes without defibrillation, according to the American Heart Association. “Survival rates of SCA victims are highest for those who receive a defibrillation shock within three minutes of collapse,” Kolenich adds, “so having multiple AED machines on-site will allows us to quickly initiate the process of providing preventative measures to victims while waiting for medical professionals to arrive should a patron go into cardiac arrest while at the Library.”

 

The three AED devices were purchased for the Library by the Mellott Trust. Trustees Edwin Douglass and Larry Gautschi note, “The Library is a community hub and the more we can do to help ensure the safety of its visitors, the better.” The Mellott Trust, established by James F. Mellott and William D. Mellot in memory of their father, Amos, provided money to build and maintain a public library and community center in Bellaire, which first opened in 1960. Today, the Trust is still used to ensure the Mellott Memorial Building in which the Bellaire Public Library resides is well-maintained and safe for visitors.

 

National CPR and AED Awareness Week runs from June 1 to 7 and aims to stress the importance of these actions to as many people as possible.