Your Health: Heart Hospital of Austin spreads life-saving devices
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Nearly a dozen organizations in Austin are now armed and ready to save lives, thanks to a local hospital and one particular high-tech machine.
Backed by the Heart Hospital of Austin, 11 defibrillators have been deployed to different organizations around town. The devices use electricity to shock a heart back into rhythm.
“Most of our staff who might have contact with visitors will know how to take advantage of this great technology,” Susan Rieff with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center said.
The state-of-the-art devices will even talk the amateur user through the life-saving process. As part of the deal, the staff at the wildflower center also received CPR training.
“Doctors can’t be everywhere. EMS can’t be everywhere. These devices can,” cardiologist Dr. Stan Wang said. “We put them in public places like this in hopes of getting early defibrillation, get them to the hospital and we take it from there.”
There hasn't been a reason to use the defibrillator yet, but with large crowds that come to the Wildflower Center every year staff say they're ready, armed with a new tool that can save a life.
The groups chosen to receive defibrillators were based on the average number of people in the organization and their proximity to the Heart Hospital of Austin.