After several of its parishioners
suffered heart attacks and even
death during Mass, Msgr. Robert
Hartnett of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
parish decided it was time to purchase
an Automatic External Defibrillator
(AED).  AEDs are incredible devices
that can shock an abnormal heart
rhythm back to a normal rate again to save lives.  More than 200,000 Americans die each year from sudden cardiac arrest, and some 50,000 of these deaths could be prevented with AEDs.

 

However, each year Msgr. Hartnett tried to buy an AED, an emergency arose that prevented this Roman Catholic parish in southeastern Baltimore County from purchasing one.  One year it was an
urgent plumbing problem, the next a major electrical problem or the church organ catching on fire.

Foundation Donates AED to Parish in 2008

Dr. Glenn Meininger presents the AED to Msgr. Hartnett.

Fortunately, Conrad Gilbert, an employee of MidAtlantic Cardiovascular Associates and a member of the Parish Council, brought the Parish’s need to the attention of MidAtlantic’s non-profit Foundation.  “We’re really very, very grateful for this donation,” says Msgr. Hartnett.

 

The AED being donated has a combination of voice prompts, lights and text messages to make sure the device is used correctly.  When its pads are placed on the victim’s chest, its sensors detect the heart rhythm and automatically provide the proper amount of electric shock to put the heart back in normal rhythm.  The AED will not shock a heart with a normal rhythm.

 

As part of its mission to save lives affected by a wide range of heart diseases, MidAtlantic Cardiovascular Foundation has been quietly donating AEDs to schools and other eligible non profit institutions where a need is identified.   The Foundation is a non-profit organization established in 2004 to provide education, research and funds to help people prevent and treat heart disease.