News release: Colorado - Denver/Boulder

June 19, 2002

For more information, call:
Steve Krizman
Kaiser Permanente
Phone: (303) 344-7932
E-mail: Steve.A.Krizman@kp.org

High-tech devices to save lives in Denver public places

Denver, CO – Kaiser Permanente has donated $60,000 to put 24 life-saving automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) into public places in Denver. The donation helps further the American Heart Association program to expand public access to these devices, which speed response to heart attack victims.

The AEDs analyze the heart rhythm and automatically indicate when to administer an electric shock. "Because it requires minimal training, we're able to enlist many more people to give critical assistance to someone who suffers a cardiac arrest," said Michael Leonard, MD, chief of Kaiser Permanente's patient safety program in Colorado. "These new devices allow ushers and security officers at The Denver Center for the Performing Arts to provide life-saving treatment in those critical first minutes following an attack."

Three of the devices will be positioned soon at the DCPA and 13 will be added to Denver fire stations that serve neighborhoods with older residents. Eight AEDs will be installed at Denver International Airport.

"Kaiser Permanente teamed with the American Heart Association on this project because it's clear that lives will be saved at a fairly small cost," Dr. Leonard said.

As many as 400,000 Americans die each year of cardiac arrest, mostly when their hearts start to beat chaotically. Automatic defibrillators are designed to recognize the chaotic beating and deliver a shock to bring the heart back into a normal rhythm.

"Immediate defibrillation can result in greater than 70 percent survival," said Dave Fending, chair of the American Heart Association's Operation Heartbeat initiative. "With each minute of delay in defibrillation, nearly 10 percent fewer people survive. With as little as a 10-minute delay, the chance to survive is small."

Christopher Colwell, MD, medical director for Denver Health Paramedics and Denver Fire, said, "The new AEDs offer additional life-saving support to that provided by Denver paramedics. Although firefighters and paramedics can respond quickly to 911 calls in the metro area, the AEDs offer the kind of immediate assistance that may mean the difference between life and death."

Kaiser Permanente is a non-profit health care provider that also donates to projects that improve the health of the entire community. It cares for 415,000 members in the six-county Denver metro area and in Colorado Springs. In the Denver metro area, care is provided by a coordinated team of physicians, nurses, pharmacists, dietitians, mental health counselors and physical therapists. In Colorado Springs, Kaiser Permanente cares for its members through an affiliated network of community-based physicians and other health-care providers.

The American Heart Association is a national voluntary health agency with the mission to reduce disability and death from cardiovascular diseases and stroke. In an effort to reach its goal, the AHA has developed Operation Heartbeat, a program designed to educate the public on the four links within the "chain of survival": early access (contacting 911), early CPR, early defibrillation (AEDs) and early advanced care. The Operation Heartbeat initiative works to increase public awareness and support for emergency care on these links.