GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — As Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin continues to recover after suffering from a cardiac arrest during a football game, the Green Bay Packers are looking to raise awareness and prepare communities across Wisconsin for similar incidents.
The Packers teamed up with Bellin Health to donate $100,000 worth of Automatic External Defibrillators, more commonly known as AEDs. The donation will result in 80 AEDs being distributed to school and recreational sports leagues and facilities throughout Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
The Packers and Bellin Health will utilize existing networks and resources throughout the region to develop criteria and determine which organizations will be eligible to apply for the donated AEDs. Further information will be released in the near future. Recipients will be required to identify several representatives from their organization to complete the training program provided by Bellin Health.
Bellin will host 15 four-hour training sessions to ensure that the recipients of the AED understand how to properly use them. They will also be trained in CPR.
Click here to learn more about Bellin’s AED and CPR training opportunities.
“After seeing Damar Hamlin’s shocking cardiac arrest and witnessing the incredible response from the emergency personnel and medical professionals who treated him, we recognized our responsibility to take action in our own community,” said Packers President/CEO Mark Murphy. “Damar’s injury also reminds us that cardiac emergencies are experienced each day throughout the country and our region. We’re proud to work with Bellin Health to equip more athletic facilities and organizations with AEDs, as well as the tools and skills they need to save a life.”
The Packers and Bellin plan to offer a large-scale public training at Lambeau Field in the coming months. They are also providing training for Hands-Only CPR; a life-saving effort that can be performed by those who do not have advanced medical training or experience.
Approximately 350,000 cardiac arrest events happen outside of hospitals each year, and around half of those people don’t get the help they need until an ambulance arrives. According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, more than 10,000 people statewide are hospitalized after a heart attack each year, including nearly 400 people annually in Brown County.
More information regarding upcoming training sessions will be announced in the coming months.
Comments