A new defibrillator and storage unit has been purchased and installed on the external wall at the GAA club house beside the Community Centre.
The Community Centre facility hosts hundreds of people on a weekly basis on the site. The site has had a defibrillator in the past, that was purchased and installed over a decade ago however it was due a replacement.
Last year a fundraising campaign was undertaken to pay for the AED and storage unit. Thanks to the contribution from the “Run4Pieta” event last Summer and a contribution from the Community Centre a Heartsign 350P AED device was purchased.
The storage unit for it was purchased shortly after by John Duffy (Claregalway Pharmacy) and generously donated to the community.
The new unit was installed in early February.
As well as all those that sponsored and donated, there were a number of people involved in ensuring this potentially life saving device was replaced.
Thanks to everyone involved.
What is an AED?
An AED is an Automated External Defibrillator. It is a portable, simple to use, computerised device. When someone suffers a sudden cardiac arrest it delivers a shock to the heart to allow it to resume its normal rhythm.
What is a cardiac arrest?
A cardiac arrest is a sudden loss of heart function which causes a person to collapse. When this happens the person will not respond and will not be breathing normally (either gasping or not breathing at all). This is caused because something has gone wrong with the heart’s electrical system, and without immediate CPR and defibrillation the person will not survive.
How an AED (and you) would save their life
An AED checks the heart’s rhythm and it automatically recognises if there is a life threatening rhythm. Once detected the AED delivers a shock to stun the heart returning it to its normal rhythm.
