AMBOY - The Amboy Lions Club, in keeping with its mission statement of serving the community, donated two Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) on April 12. An AED was provided for each of the community buildings in Amboy and Sublette. The AEDs will be available for all functions and activities held at the two community buildings.

The Philips AEDs were purchased from AED Essentials of Rockford and Hanne Reiger provided an in service class on using the AEDS to the recipients and other community members present. The units are fully automated with voice instructions on use of the machine itself as well as for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The first three to five minutes of heart failure is critical to the survival of the victim and having the AEDs on site will them give lifesaving time.

The AEDs provided for the Community Buildings are not the same exact units as those carried by fire departments or law enforcement vehicles, but use of the units is the same. Reiger suggested that community members attend a CPR and AED training class the next time one is held at their local fire departments. She demonstrated the machines and invited attendees to "have a go" using it. The unit has visual helps and vocal instructions to help even those who have never used the unit before to have success with it. Community members should make themselves aware of the location of the AED unit in their building so that precious time is not lost when an emergency arises.

Maintenance of the units will be up to the community buildings and support for them will be provided by AED Essentials.