Hospital donates life-saving equipment to new Student Recreation Center

Crews are still working to get the new Pittsburg State University Student Recreation Center /Kansas National Guard Armory ready for students later this summer, but it’s never too soon to equip the facility with life-saving equipment.

Mt. Carmel Regional Medical Center is donating two Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) to PSU for use at the center. The equipment will be presented at a ceremony at 10 a.m. on Friday, June 13, in the lobby on the north side of the Student Recreation Center. Jonathan Davis, president and CEO of Mt. Carmel, as well as Steve Erwin, associate vice president of campus life and auxiliary services at PSU, will speak at the event. Vince Daino, director of the Student Recreation Center, will accept the equipment on behalf of the new facility.

Automated External Defibrillators are portable electronic devices that can stop cardiac arrhythmias that may lead to cardiac arrest. The machines, which can be used with very little training, can stabilize a person’s heartbeat when it becomes erratic and distressed.

The device guides the user by using voice and visual commands. The AED assesses the victim’s heart rhythm, determines whether defibrillation is needed, and then administers an electrical shock if appropriate. The units can also “talk” a rescuer through the CPR technique.

An estimated 200,000 deaths occur in the United States each year due to sudden cardiac arrest. According to the American Heart Association, the fast use of a defibrillator along with CPR greatly improves a victim’s chance of survival.

“In a life and death situation minutes count,” Davis said. “AEDs have been proven to increase your chances of surviving a cardiac arrest. Mt Carmel is proud to make them available to the students and staff of Pittsburg State University.”

Daino, who spent 10 years as assistant director for Club Sports and Summer Camps at Purdue University before coming to PSU, believes the presence of defibrillators at Purdue might have prevented the deaths of three students at the university’s recreation center over the years. When ordering equipment for the PSU Student Recreation Center, he planned to purchase defibrillators (at roughly $4,000 each) before being notified of Mt. Carmel’s donation.

“We’re talking about equipment that can literally save a life,” Daino said. “These models are very easy to use and will be located in centralized areas, including the walking track and the cardio room. This is an important gift to the university.”

For more information on the donation, contact the PSU Office of Public Relations at 620-235-4122.

---Pitt State---