It’s raining AED’s in Norwood!

Well, make that the August forecast

Thanks to Norwood Health Department Commissioner Donna Laake and Carl Lindner, 7 new automatic external defibrillators, or AED’s, will be on hand by August to potentially save the lives of locals and visitors who have the misfortune of going into cardiac arrest. Council watchers know from the last two meetings that Donna wrote Mr. Lindner asking for his help as soon as she confirmed the only AED’s in the entire City were the several at the Norwood Fire Department. Mr. Lindner quickly responded to her letter with a letter of his own in which he enclosed a generous $15,000 check. Council officially received his donation at this past Tuesday’s council meeting.

So, here’s the deal. Donna tells us that when she placed the order with Medtronics for the 7 new AED’s, the Medtronics’ rep. told her the FDA had put a temporary hold on the devices because the screens are a little too blurry. Medtronics expects to fix the problem in time for an August delivery. The AED’s will be placed in the following locations:

1. One each at the Health Dept., City Hall, the Community Center, Public Works, and Waterworks Park.
2. Each of the two Health Dept. nurses will carry one at all times.

Additionally, 4-5 employees at each of the City locations will undergo training on the proper administration of the AED’s.

What a team, Donna Laake and Carl Lindner! Many thanks to both for helping increase the odds of folks in our borders surviving sudden cardiac arrest.