AED's in Churches

From the (Baton Rouge, LA) Advocate

Members of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church hope they never need it, but they have it. First Presbyterian Church also has one, but more congregations have yet to talk about it.

The item in question is an automated external defibrillator, a medical device capable of shocking the heart and restoring its rhythm after a sudden cardiac arrest.

Mary Dudley, health-care committee chairperson at Shiloh, said her church bought a defibrillator just over two years ago in order to be proactive.

"I'm a cardiac care nurse, and we have a lot of people with emergency backgrounds on the committee. We looked at the cost and we advised Rev. (Charles) Smith (the church's senior pastor). He said 'Go for it.' "

The church is no stranger to such medical emergencies. Years ago, a member in his 30s directing the church choir had a cardiac arrest. He survived, but the incident lingered with members of the committee, Dudley said.

While an Emergency Medical Services unit is within blocks of the church, she said, the committee felt that when looking at the concept of "emergency, that time is muscle."

Since having the device, the church has trained members who serve as emergency responders, making certain Sunday services are covered, and plans are in the works to train church, day-care and administrative personnel.