Galveston, Texas—A True Island Treasure (or a True Treasure Island)
Galveston, Texas, is a bustling island home to more than 70,000 people. Galveston offers its many citizens and visitors plenty to see and do, with its miles of beaches, thriving art district, and theatres featuring Broadway musicals and award-winning plays. It also has a long history, dating back to the early 1500’s when the Akokisa Indians called Galveston “home.”
The infamous pirate, Jean Lafitte, also settled there. When forced to leave, Lafitte held a wild party, burning his settlement down and reportedly leaving his buried treasure behind, never to be found. Today, there is real treasure in Galveston, a spirit of enthusiasm toward saving the lives of men, women, and children who fall victim to sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).
According to Jem Woods, Galveston EMS Senior Captain and Training Coordinator, in the mid 1990s, EMS personnel realized they needed 20-25 minutes to reach SCA victims on the west side of the island, well beyond the 10 minute time-frame recommended by the American Heart Association. Although the Fire Department had two stations there and could initiate CPR, they lacked the equipment to do anything more.
In 1996, Captain Woods met with the local Municipal Utility District (MUD) and a local homeowner’s association to discuss the importance of AEDs. Unfortunately, a member of the board had recently passed away, and the other board members questioned whether an AED might have saved him. Soon after the meeting, a fire station on the west side received its first AED.
Publicized “saves” spread the word about the efficacy of AEDs, and generated additional interest. For instance, the Galveston Beach Patrol decided to carry AEDs on their ATVs and installed AED stations along the seawall. And private entities, such as the Galveston County Club and several hotels and restaurants, purchased AEDs as well. As Chief Woods notes, “The greater understanding people have of this the better. You get to the point where people aren’t afraid to work with them (the AEDs). The better access (that) more people have to them, the more lives will be saved.”
To date, 18 lucky people have survived cardiac arrest, thanks to the island’s 50 AEDs. The youngest patient, a six-year-old girl born with a congenital heart defect, suffered cardiac arrest when her implantable pacemaker lost its impulse. At the other end of the age spectrum, an 88-year-old woman, recovering in her hospital bed shortly after defibrillation, was well enough to ask Captain Woods to put her cat in her house for the night! In another case, a resuscitated teenage boy was able to walk away from the event, and quickly returned to normal.
Captain Woods believes that ease-of-use is a major factor in the popularity of AEDs. He asserts, “I can tell you that without question I could take this AED…sit down with you and, within a matter of 10 minutes, I could show you how to use the machine. And the machine is simple enough and clear enough to understand that if you didn’t touch the machine again for a year---you would be able to apply the AED and operate it as you are suppose to.”