CARY— Thanks to an anonymous
donor under the auspices of Cardiac Systems, LLC, the North Carolina Baptist
Men medical/dental bus ministry now owns two portable automated external
defibrillators (AED). The emergency devices apply electric shock to restore
normal heartbeat.
Lori Tryon, representing
Cardiac Systems, presented the units to Joanne Honeycutt, medical/dental bus
ministry coordinator, at the Baptist State Convention Building in Cary. Each
unit is valued at about $1,200.
Tryon trained several bus drivers on the units’
use.
Made by HeartSine, the AED
units weigh about two pounds and are made for adult or pediatric use.
The units
feature visual and oral prompts to walk volunteers through exactly what to do
and when to do it.
“It’s wonderful to see the
support from professional organizations,” Honeycutt said.
She hopes the units
will never be needed, but like N.C. Baptist Men disaster relief, she knows the
importance of being prepared.
In 2009, the two
medical/dental buses drove 29,977 miles to serve 4,886 patients at 152
locations.