Today the Holmen Area Rotary Club (HARC) held an event to present 5 of the 9 AEDs that are being placed into the community as part of their AED initiative. The units are being given out to Holmen Ace Hardware & Rental, Be Fit Gym, The Holmen Area Community Center, Features Holmen and Drugan's Castle Mound Golf Course. Kelly Dunn, HARC Project Coordinator kicked off the event by explaining the program and how it came about. Dr. Carrie Travis followed up, explaining how her graduating nursing students from Winona State became involved, canvasing the community, updating the Pulse Point AED App and making recommendations as to possible AED sites. Patrick Corran, the La Crosse Fire Department's Community Risk Educator stood up and expressed appreciation for the AED efforts and stressed the importance of having AEDs readily available. Dr. Cheri Olson, Chair of the 7 Rivers Cardiac Arrest Preparedness and Education (CAPE) built on Patrick's message, stating that there are over 300,000 heart attacks a year and is one of the leading causes of death in the U.S. If someone has a heart attack and there is no AED available there is only a 5-10% chance of survival. But in areas with AEDs available and systems in place to speed treatment the survival rate rises to 40-50%. Every minute delay in responding to a heart attack leads to a 10% decline in recovery rate. Dr. Olson shared that her life had been saved in 2008 by a quick response and an AED. One of CAPE's missions is education and they will be participating with the Holmen Community Center on May 25th and 26th in basic CPR and how to utilize an AED. There are four more units for the Holmen Area are to be awarded in May. Applications need to be in to HARC by 5/1
