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The devices are stored in specially designed cabinets and are ready to be used in the event of cardiac arrests occurring on athletic fields.
You’re probably familiar with automated external defibrillators (AEDs), the devices you see on the walls of gymnasiums and offices that deliver lifesaving electrical shocks to people suffering cardiac arrest.
But not every heart attack occurs indoors.
That’s why PeaceHealth — with funding from the Sacred Heart Medical Center Foundation — has helped install four AED “SaveStations” at outdoor athletic fields in Eugene and Springfield. The units have been in place since fall, but PeaceHealth officials recently held unveiling events at three of the locations.
The outdoor devices guide users through the necessary steps to deliver an electrical shock designed to restore a normal heartbeat. Along with CPR chest compressions and artificial ventilation, which help preserve brain function and maintain circulation in cardiac arrest victims, the units can help save lives in the critical first minutes before professional help arrives.
The outdoor devices have been placed near sites that attract younger athletes, and that’s for a reason, said JoAnna Kamppi, a retired EMS chief at Eugene Springfield Fire.
“We know that about one in every 40,000 athletes will have a cardiac arrest,” said Kamppi, who was at the unveiling at Hamlin Middle School. Youthful athletes, she said, are not immune.
In addition to the SaveStation unit at Hamlin, 326 Centennial Blvd. in Springfield, the other units are located at:
- Willamalane Les Schwab Sports Complex, 250 S. 32nd St., Springfield.
- Lane Community College, 4000 E. 30th Ave., Eugene.
- Babe Ruth Sports Complex, 5700 Babe Ruth Drive, in Bethel Community Park in Eugene.
As of Friday, May 1, none of the SaveStations had been activated for a medical event. But at the christening event at Hamlin, Rapid, the mascot for the Springfield Drifters baseball team, got hands-on experience on how to use the device — and tips on the proper technique to deliver CPR compressions.
Because these AEDs are intended for outside uses, the SaveStations in which they’re housed need to be specially designed: For starters, since AEDs need to be stored at certain temperatures, the cabinets in which the units are stored are climate-controlled.
And because timely access to the AED units is critical, the cabinets are unlocked.
But the SaveStations have precautions to prevent the units from just wandering off.
For example, as curious teenagers at Hamlin Middle School recently discovered, when you open the cabinet of the SaveStation, it triggers an immediate audible alarm. (As the teenagers probably did not know at the time, when you open the cabinet, the unit also snaps three photos of whoever is doing that. If you take the AED unit out of the cabinet, the unit snaps three additional photos.)
The AED unit itself transmits its location as it’s being carried away from the SaveStation — useful information for first responders.
Each of these SaveStation units — cabinet and AED — carries a price tag of about $9,000, a PeaceHealth spokesperson said. A $50,000 grant from the Sacred Heart Medical Center Foundation covered the costs of the project — and also allowed for the inclusion in each cabinet of kits to stop bleeding.
The shocks delivered by the AED unit can be essential, experts said, but so are continued CPR compressions to the heart and chest between jolts.
The units — and a little knowledge of basic first aid, like CPR — can help save lives even before medical professionals arrive, participants in the christening event at Hamlin said.
Said Amy Kline, EMS captain at Eugene Springfield Fire: “It’s really important for the public to know that you can make a huge difference by taking action before we get there.”
