Police save woman with
automatic defibrillator
By Elaine Van DeVelde, Sentinel
May 10th, 2005
EDISON — Police don’t know if it was
the equipment, the timing or both.
Nonetheless, they’re grateful they had a defibrillator
on hand May 3 when they arrived first on the scene
where an unconscious woman lay on the floor of her
home with no pulse.
After being shocked with the portable machine —
that officers now carry in their cars — before
emergency response personnel arrived, the woman survived
and is “conscious, alert and doing well,”
said Lt. Matthew Freeman.
Police and emergency medical service personnel were
dispatched to an Edgegrove Street residence on a report
of an unconscious 77-year-old woman.
“Officer Michael Carter arrived on the scene
first, and found the woman had no pulse and was not
breathing,” Freeman said. “He used his
automated external defibrillator to shock her heart.
Then EMS arrived on the scene and did CPR.”
The woman, who had a heart condition, was taken to
JFK Medical Center, Edison, where she is reported
to be in good condition, he said.
Having the defibrillator in the police car could
have been the reason why her life was spared, Freeman
said.
“The officer was there within minutes of the
call,” he said. “Usually, police arrive
first, so it has been a lifesaving measure to have
the defibrillators in the cars.”
Police have had the machines on hand in patrol cars
for about four years, Freeman said.
“For each shift, we make sure that the majority
of the patrol cars on the road are equipped with them,”
he added. “This movement to have the defibrillators
on hand not only with police, but in malls and other
places, started out west. The trend moved toward the
East Coast and, it’s really ended up saving
a lot of people to have the machines accessible and
people trained to use them.” |
