Gilroy
– Gilroy firefighters are adding fellow city employees and
residents to their list of life-saving tools.
Members of the Gilroy Fire Department have already trained 25
city employees and 20 volunteer and paid-call firefighters to use
life-saving defibrillators now located in four city buildings.
By Lori Stuenkel
Gilroy – Gilroy firefighters are adding fellow city employees and residents to their list of life-saving tools.
Members of the Gilroy Fire Department have already trained 25 city employees and 20 volunteer and paid-call firefighters to use life-saving defibrillators now located in four city buildings.
Eventually, the city will train employees of private businesses that purchase a defibrillator, along with residents who enroll in CPR classes.
Some 16 city employees and a councilman practiced using the new Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) on mannequins Wednesday morning. After completing the four-hour class, they would be certified in CPR and familiar with using the machines to shock someone whose heart is not beating as it should.
Regular citizens’ use of CPR, and now the defibrillators, can mean the difference between life and death in an emergency medical situation, said GFD Division Chief Phil King, who has seen that difference both statistically and in his years as a medic.
“When someone starts CPR before we get there, most of the times, we have been able to save them,” King said.
By pumping blood to the brain, CPR keeps a patient viable until paramedics arrive, King said. But where CPR is good, the incorporation of defibrillators in City Hall, the Senior Center, Wheeler Manor, and the city Corporation Yard can be even better for some patients. If the machine detects the spasms of the lower half of the heart that can be remedied by defibrillation, it can get the heart pumping sooner and increase a person’s chances of survival.
And because the defibrillator directs the user with voice commands, colored buttons and sound effects, anyone can learn to use one.
“Based on the video and the hands-on that we’ve seen, it seems pretty easy to use,” said Adriana Vasquez, who works in the city’s human resources department, after practicing rescue breathing Wednesday.
Her desk is near the entrance to City Hall – also where the defibrillator is kept – and she wants to be prepared in such a high-traffic area.
“Quite honestly, if makes me feel better knowing that other people are trained, too, in case something happens to me,” she said.
Councilman Bob Dillon also attended the training, led by Firefighter/Paramedic Kevin Bebee and taught by three other volunteer or paid-call firefighters.
The U.S. Navy trained him to perform CPR, Dillon said, though he’s never been officially certified. With defibrillators reportedly costing $2,000, he said more businesses should start a Public Access Defibrillator program similar to the city’s.
“If you ran a medium-sized company, it would probably be worth it,” he said.
The city is encouraging businesses to consider purchasing an automated defibrillator and acquiring training through Gilroy firefighters, and several businesses are interested, King said.
So far, one business has completed the process. Monier Lifetile Co., on Renz Lane behind the Gilroy Crossing shopping center, has had a public access defibrillator program in place for six months, before the city’s classes started. It took a bit of digging to learn the requirements – including training of employees and oversight by an occupational clinic – for getting the defibrillator set up, said Plant Manager Wilbur Green.
“We’re a growing company: We have 13 sites across the U.S. and we were looking to be proactive and protect our employees,” Green said.
Monier’s defibrillator has not yet been used, but elsewhere, people’s lives have been saved in schools or other locations, Green said.
The company even invited employees’ spouses to attend the trainings, and several accepted the offer.
“They’ve been very supportive of it,” Green said. “They were much less stressed after seeing how easy it is to use the equipment. One spouse even went to their own employer and asked them to start a program.”
Ideally, there will be enough public defibrillators on hand that they will be available when needed.
“Anywhere you have a large gathering of people – for example sporting events, the Garlic Festival – where you would expect a lot of people and a higher possibility of (health) problems,” King said.
To sign up for future classes call 846-0460. Details on the Public Access Defibrillator program, call Yvette Phillips at 846-0372 or visit the city’s Web site at www.ci.gilroy.ca.us.
