For Immediate Release

For more information, contact:
Vince Rivard, 763-236-3777, pager 612-654-8769

Mercy & Unity Foundation earns AHA HeartSaver Award

COON RAPIDS, Minn. 04/13/2004--

Mercy & Unity Hospitals Foundation recently earned the American Heart Association’s HeartSaver Award for an initiative it helped develop to equip police and fire vehicles throughout Anoka County with automated external defibrillators.
Started in 2002,  Mercy & Unity Hospitals Heart Safe Communities  program has helped place more than 50 AEDs with first responders. Through a charitable golf fundraiser and support from the community, the foundation pays one-half the cost of the $2,500 unit, which includes purchasing the equipment, training of personnel and maintenance.

The program is seen as an extension of the hospital’s renowned cardiac care because it brings medical technology to the community that can provide a life-saving bridge for heart attack patients before they reach the hospital. An AED is the most effective treatment for cardiac arrest because it interrupts an abnormal heart rhythm and allows the normal rhythm to regain control. But because sudden cardiac arrest victims have a short window to be successfully resuscitated, defibrillation must be done quickly – ideally within the first 3 to 5 minutes.

Foundation executive director Julie Nelson Gotham said that several matching grant opportunities remain from the initial grant. For more information, call the foundation at 
763-236-8199.  

Mercy & Unity Hospitals, located in Coon Rapids and Fridley, are non-profit hospitals that serve the northern Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The hospitals, which are part of Allina Hospitals & Clinics, are located on the Internet at  www.mercyunity.allina.com .. The latest health information is at  www.medformation.com.

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