Some 325,000 people in the U.S. die every year from sudden cardiac arrest.

"And some of them are in Manheim Township," emergency official James Weber noted.

"We want to prevent that."

So Weber and others from the Manheim Township Ambulance Association took steps today toward doing just that.

And more of those steps are coming.

The ambulance association, thanks to donations, today began installing life-saving cardiac defibrillators at public gathering spots in the township, Lancaster's largest suburb.

The first went in at Oregon Dairy, the popular grocery store/dairy on Oregon Pike. Weber said more than 20 of the units, at a cost of more than $2,000 each, will be installed during coming months.

Two Rotary clubs, Lancaster Northeast and the Sunrise Rotary, came together to buy the first four of the units, Weber noted.

The 325,000 deaths work out "to one person every two minutes, which is just alarming," said Weber, the ambulance association's community outreach and education coordinator.

The emergency organization will be placing the defibrillators in such gathering places as stores, businesses and churches.

"If there are any Manheim Township businesses that are interested, I'll get the funding and get them in," Weber said.

Anyone with questions may call the ambulance association, 1820 Municipal Drive, at 569-6622.

Some employees at Oregon Dairy were trained on how to use the defibrillator.

For more information on prevention of cardiac arrest, Weber encouraged those interested to visit www.sudddencardiacarrest.org, the Web site for the national Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association.

The Web site includes stories from people whose lives were saved by a defibrillator.

Raising awareness of how to prevent sudden cardiac arrest "is one of 12 or 13 public outreach programs we're doing right now," Weber noted.

"The more people I can get in front of me, and then talk about prevention, the better we are going to do at saving lives. Prevention is not just being a good paramedic."


Staff writer David O'Connor can be reached at doconnor@LNPnews.com or 481-6033.