It’s not just pews and an altar that constitute a well-equipped house of worship. Trustees of the First Congregational Church are preparing to add the final touch: a defibrillator.
“I’m just waiting to be notified that it’s available,” said trustee Evora Wheeler. “The money is here and the trustees have approved the purchase.”
Wheeler said the defibrillator, which is used to try to restart a heart that has stopped beating, will cost about $1,600, including training on its use.
“After our experience, it’s very affordable,” Wheeler said. “There wasn’t a doubt in our minds when it was brought up at trustees.”
The decision came easily because of an incident that happened earlier this fall.
Wheeler and her husband, Ralph, were sitting in the pew in front of Bob and Lois Burnell on Oct. 7, when Pastor Chad Poland was to preach his last sermon at the church before moving to the East Coast to join his family.
Bob Burnell wasn’t feeling well that morning and his wife suggested they stay home, Wheeler said she later learned. Burnell, however, wanted to hear Poland’s farewell message and the couple, longtime church members, came to the service.
Wheeler said the couples had exchanged greetings and Bob Burnell had talked to her 3-year-old grandson, Jake, before they settled their attention toward the altar.
Almost immediately, Wheeler heard “Evora! Help!” coming from behind her.
“I turned around and Bob had fallen into her lap,” Wheeler said.
Wheeler called for help and ran to call 911.
Because Poland was preaching only once that Sunday instead of twice, the congregation consisted of most of its members, including some who were professionally trained to provide life-saving treatment for Burnell, who had suffered cardiac arrest.
“It needed to be started again, and that’s what they did,” she said. “ … We had EMTs — (firefighter/Emergency Medical Technician) Chris Birk was there, and several RNs and several of the hospital personnel were in the congregation that morning. It all just tied together.”
Those church members were able to restore enough heart-and-lung function for Burnell until ambulance personnel arrived and took over. Burnell was taken to Newman Regional Health and soon flown out by helicopter to Stormont-Vail Hospital for treatment and, subsequently, recovery.
“There’s a power greater than we are,” Wheeler said. “If they’d (the Burnells) stayed home, he wouldn’t have made it.”
And Burnell was not the only Emporian to be stricken with a heart problem at church that morning. Wheeler said she later was told that a woman suffered a similar experience at St. Andrew’s Church that day.
Burnell’s brush with death prompted Wheeler to begin investigating the possibility of the church’s buying equipment to deal with such emergencies.
She talked with several doctors here and with Newman Regional Health Foundation representatives to determine the feasibility and the cost, then presented the proposal to the trustees, who approved it unanimously.
The defibrillator will furnish a degree of security to others who may undergo an experience similar to Burnell’s, whether medical personnel are on-site or not. Any trained member of the congregation should be able to operate the defibrillator effectively.
“Chris Birk says it tells you what to do,” Wheeler said. “He said nearly anyone can operate it. He said it’s just a matter of having it available and accessible immediately.”
The Congregationalists’ plan for emergencies apparently has opened the door for consideration by other churches and groups.
One of the doctors Wheeler consulted now is investigating the possibility of such a purchase by his church and by the Emporia Country Club; other churches also are researching the idea, too, and price breaks may be available if enough groups decide to buy defibrillators.
Wheeler is encouraged and enthusiastic about the possibility of savings lives with equipment that comes at a relatively low cost.
“Even at the high school, for programs they have there,” she said, suggesting another potential defibrillator site. “Wherever there are groups of people, there should be one.”
slipandslide (anonymous) says...
having one of these is a good idea, i m glad things worked out that day
January 2, 2008 at 12:53 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )