Groups partner to make Two Harbors `Heart Safe`

Nov. 04--Imagine a family member or loved one suddenly falls to the ground with a heart failure or as a result of sudden cardiac arrest. As seconds tick by and the blood flow to the heart, brain and lungs comes to a stop, is there someone trained in CPR or in the use of an automated external defibrillator, or AED, close by?

CPR and AEDs if used properly and in a short period of time can get a person's heart started again or at least get blood flowing to vital organs and restore oxygen and increase the chance of surviving the cardiac arrest with a positive outcome. Many times however, a trained person isn't close by and the outcome is nothing less than tragic.

"The current statistics right now are pretty staggering for survivability of out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest, it's about 10 percent," said Corey Larson, Lake County Ambulance operations manager. "If you incorporate bystander CPR and AEDs close by and ambulance and rescue response that's less than 10 minutes, then you can increase that survivability by about double or even triple."

To help increase the odds of surviving a sudden cardiac arrest event or other heart failure, Lake County Ambulance and Lake View Hospital are partnering to help Two Harbors become a "Heart Safe Community" through the Minnesota Department of Health.

Cardiovascular disease, including cardiac arrest, accounts for 20 percent of all deaths in Minnesota and is the second leading cause of death in the state, according to Lake View president and CEO Greg Ruberg. The hope is that becoming a Heart Safe Community will promote community awareness and the potential for saving lives from sudden cardiac arrest. Once Two Harbors is certified, it will be the only Heart Safe Community city north of Hinckley in Minnesota. The majority of Heart Safe communities in the state are clustered around the Twin Cities and the closest community certified is Fayal Township in St. Louis County.

Becoming certified requires cities the size of Two Harbors to have at least six AEDs in public areas around town and to have at least four CPR/AED training courses throughout the year to help increase the members of the general public who are certified. Larson said he is in the process of applying for grants to fund the additional AED purchases and get them placed throughout the community.

To kick off Two Harbors' application process, there will be CPR/AED training classes Nov. 19 at Lake View Hospital. Larson said the class is free but if participants want the certification card from the American Heart Association, there is a $6 charge. Larson said there will be three different sessions beginning at 10 a.m., 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. After Lake County Ambulance and the hospital get some feedback from the kick off training, they will tailor future training sessions around the needs and availability of the community.

"The biggest thing with something like this, is it's total community buy-in," Larson said. "It's not just the health care providers, it's not just the ambulance service, it's not just the hospital, but if we come together as an entire community, the goal is to improve our statistics on saving people who suffer that sudden cardiac arrest. It's the second leading cause of death in Minnesota and if we can increase that 10 percent, we can save a lot of people."

Once Two Harbors is certified, Ruberg said he hopes to expand the initiative to Silver Bay and, eventually to the entire county. After they finish certification in Two Harbors, Ruberg plans to contact people in Silver Bay to gauge interest, but with cooperation from the community, he sees making Silver Bay a Heart Safe Community as a "very achievable goal." Lake County's large geographic size presents a number of logistical problems to place AEDs strategically around the county for access when needed. The goal is there, but right now, the focus is to get Two Harbors certified followed by Silver Bay.

"If we can save one single life in our community as a result of this initiative, all of our team's time and effort will be worth it," Ruberg said. "We are excited to pursue this opportunity to better serve our community."

For more information about the CPR/AED training sessions or to register contact Grant Kohlhase at (218) 834-7339 or grant.kohlhase@slhduluth.com.

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Jamey Malcomb

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