State allots $1.6 million for 1,000 units.
By: Lea Kahn
Township resident Patrick Cox had a brush with death at youth baseball game at Central Park several months ago.
Mr. Cox was standing at the concession stand in the park, when he suddenly fell over. He had suffered a heart attack.
Ken Kiernan, a coach in the Lawrence Township Junior Baseball and Softball Association, used an automated external defibrillator to revive Mr. Cox and jumpstart his heart. The AED had been donated to the association by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. last year.
AEDs such as the one that saved Mr. Cox’s life are compact, lightweight, portable devices with a built-in computer that analyzes a victim’s heart rhythm, determines whether fibrillation is needed, and delivers a shock to the heart. The AED provides both voice and visual prompts that lead users through each rescue step.
Now, Acting Gov. Richard Codey wants to make more AEDs available. He visited the Lawrence Township Police Department on Thursday to announce a $1.6 million program to distribute more than 1,000 of the life-saving devices to law enforcement and security agencies statewide.
"In government, we have many initiatives to help people in need," Gov. Codey said. "But sometimes, it’s the simplest program that can have the greatest impact. This initiative will save lives plain and simple."
"Defibrillators are expensive for a local police department on a tight budget," Gov. Codey said. "This is where state government can make a difference. In addition to saving lives, this program also saves taxpayer dollars."
Nearly 600 agencies would be eligible to apply to the state Department of Health and Senior Services for an AED, which costs about $2,500. Eligible agencies include police and county sheriff’s departments, county prosecutors’ offices, and local and state police training academies.
The DHSS would purchase the AEDS in bulk and distribute them, taking into account a community’s population, the size of its police department and its coverage area, and whether the agency already has AEDs in its patrol cars or station houses. The AEDS should be delivered to recipients by mid-2005.
The Lawrence Township Police Department has five AEDs four that are placed in the patrol cars, and a fifth one that is located in the Lawrence Township Municipal Court and Police Department building, said Chief of Police Daniel Posluszny. The devices were given to the township by Bristol-Myers Squibb several years ago.
Although the Police Department already has five AEDs, in addition to the AED located at Central Park, Chief Posluszny said there are plans to submit an application for additional devices.
Sudden cardiac arrest is a major public health problem nationwide, said Clifton R. Lacy, the outgoing DHSS commissioner. About 250,000 people in the United States die each year, including about 6,400 in New Jersey. It can strike people of all ages, including children and young adults.
"AEDs, used appropriately, will save 50,000 lives annually," Dr. Lacy said. "The heart quivers, caused by underlying heart disease. Minutes can make the difference between life and death when a person’s heart suddenly fails. A victim’s chance of survival drops as much as 10 percent for every minute that passes without proper treatment."
It is important to supply police and security agencies with AEDs because they often arrive on the scene before the emergency medical technicians, Dr. Lacy said. If the AED is used within the first three minutes of sudden cardiac arrest, the survival rate is 50 to 75 percent, he added.

