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Beaumont Health System AED Donation May Help Save Lives

Friendship Circle in West Bloomfield is AED recipient.

Beaumont Health System donated an automated external defibrillator, or AED, to the Friendship Circle of West Bloomfield on July 16. The Friendship Circle is a nonprofit organization that provides programs for individuals with special needs.

An AED is an emergency medical device that delivers an electrical charge to a patient who is experiencing a life-threatening, abnormal heart rhythm or sudden cardiac arrest.  The device automatically diagnoses the heart rhythm and determines if a shock is needed. The pre-set electrical charge will only be administered by the device if a fatal arrhythmia is detected. 

“It is important that an AED be available in any facility that has a significant number of children in attendance; though the likelihood of ever using it is low, no child should ever die because an AED was not available,” says Alan Silverman, M.D., Cardiovascular Services at Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak.

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“Donating an AED to the Friendship Circle, as well as providing on-site informational presentations and training sessions for the staff and student volunteers, will protect the children and prepare the staff to properly handle cardiac emergencies,” explains Dr. Silverman.

Beaumont Health System’s sponsorship of the American Heart Association, includes the donation of AED devices, at a cost of approximately $2,000 each, to community organizations.

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