Chief Robert Edgar’s Crusade Fort Lauderdale Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Division Chief Robert Edgar has been a staunch advocate of defibrillators. Chief Edgar is intimately familiar with the unfortunate consequences that inevitably result from his EMS teams arriving a few precious minutes too late. The frustration that wears on an EMT unit from helplessly witnessing case after case of lives lost to ignorance and apathy requires a near limitless reserve of courage and hope. Courage to keep doing a job where death rides with you everywhere you go and hope that those whose lives are in your hands are getting the message. The message is defibrillators. EMS Chief Robert Edgar When Chief Edgar’s EMTs are alerted to a "Sudden Cardiac Arrest" emergency, a person’s life depends upon them winning a race with the clock. With each passing minute, the victim’s survival rate decreases 7 to 10%. After 10 minutes from the onset of the incident, only 2% of the stricken victims survive. Chief Edgar realized early on that a healthy majority of the people he serves didn't understand that Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) kills more people than house fires, AIDS, firearms, prostate and breast cancer, and automobile accidents, COMBINED . It is one of the leading causes of death among American adults. The vast majority of the 250,000 lives lost to SCA each year in the United States would have been spared by access to an AED (Automated External Defibrillator). Horror stories that proliferate in the media didn’t work. Sterile informational pamphlets didn’t work. Chief Edgar took it upon himself to go directly to the people living in the buildings under his protection to hammer home the message. “A defibrillator in your home is more likely to save your life than the fire extinguisher that you scrupulously maintain.” He sent out representatives to neighborhood associations, condominium associations and homeowner associations attempting to stem the engrained technophobia, overcome the misconceptions surrounding liability and give perspective to the obvious benefits that accompany acquiring an AED. Everywhere his minions connect, they leave Association Board members, committee Chairpersons and building managers embarrassed for not implementing a surprisingly simple, inexpensive program capable of saving the lives of their constituents and their families. Few "in-house" projects yield so much for so little. The Galt Mile community owes the Chief a debt of gratitude. His persistence has borne fruit. Since the inception of his efforts, almost half the member Associations of the Galt Mile Community Association have purchased defibrillators. While an AED can be used by almost anyone to save a life during an emergency, it is strongly recommended that several building residents and/or employees be trained and certified in the proper use and maintenance of the devise. Aware that this could represent another roadblock to the correct implementation of a successful AED program, Chief Edgar is currently attempting to arrange training classes as part of the overall incentive to local Associations to equip their premises with these “medical fire extinguishers”. The City of Fort Lauderdale is in the throes of a devastating fiscal crunch. As a result, many of the municipal programs will suffer withering cutbacks or disappear completely. The City, while low on funds, still has an abundance of expertise. Because of the partnership formed between the Galt Mile Community Association and Chief Robert Edgar’s department, the AED program will continue. The funds for the equipment are being provided by the Associations and the expertise is being provided by the Fire-Rescue Training department. Other city agencies would do well to take note of this formula. EMS Lieutenant

Jo-Ann Lorber Lieutenant Jo-Ann Lorber of Chief Edgar’s unit has been working with the Galt Mile Community Association to develop this training program. Lieutenant Lorber is a Fire/Medical FTO (Field Training Officer) currently assigned to Chief Edgar’s Emergency Medical Services Bureau. A prototype training class has been scheduled for October 7th at the Fire-Rescue Training Facility. While Lieutenant Lorber and Chief Edgar are fighting to provide these training resources during the program's infancy, it behooves us to discontinue any dependence on municipal resources as quickly as possible. To this end, Lieutenant Lorber is assisting the GMCA in the creation of a volunteer unit of CPR/AED trainers. Well-known AED advocate Nancy Effrain of SouthPoint Condominium, GMCA Advisory Board Member Eric Peter Berkowitz of Regency Tower and GMCA President Robert Rozema met with Lieutenant Lorber on September 19th to flesh out the logistics involved in organizing training volunteers into a unit capable of responding to the training needs of any of our member Associations. During the recruitment, training and development of this unit, Lieutenant Lorber will assist us in arranging training support for those Associations that have purchased AEDs in response to Chief Edgar's life-saving crusade. Few experiences are as rewarding as saving a life. Please call the Galt Mile Community Association at (954) 563-6353 to inquire about participation in this critically important AED unit. No experience is required. You will receive the necessary certified training at no cost to you. You will, in turn, have the opportunity to train your friends, neighbors, and building personnel to the extent of official certification. Associations that prefer to arrange certification training prior to the formation of the AED unit should CLICK HERE for a wealth of information in that regard. Click To Top of Page

Fire-Rescue Certifies 1st GMCA Class The Galt Mile Community Association has partnered with the Fort Lauderdale Department of Fire-Rescue to foster an active defibrillator installation program. In response to a concerted campaign initiated by Chief Robert Edgar of the Emergency Medical Services Bureau , almost half of the GMCA’s member Associations have purchased AEDs (Automated External Defibrillators) for on-site installation. Hopefully, the remaining Associations will follow suit and transform the Galt Mile into what the American Heart Association terms a “Heart-Safe Zone”. Should any potential victim fall prey to SCA (Sudden Cardiac Arrest) in one of the AED-equipped Condos, their prospects for survival are tremendously increased. Member Associations are protecting themselves from the stigma of becoming the condo that lost a resident or visitor to SCA because they couldn’t find $2000 in the budget. Some Associations have purchased several AEDs for reasons that parallel purchasing several fire extinguishers; it is inexpensive yet effective protection from a proven killer. While an AED can be used by virtually anyone, trained or not, to save someone’s life, it is recommended to install the defibrillator in conjunction with the implementation of an AED program. This includes the CPR/AED certified training of one or more condo residents and/or employees. To avoid diminishing the positive momentum of the AED installation effort on the Galt Mile, Chief Edgar has made this valuable certified training available at no cost to the GMCA’s member associations during the program’s infancy. EMS Field Training Officer Lieutenant Jo-Ann Lorber and Lieutenant Joseph Fox of the Fire-Rescue Training Division developed a training program designed to promote early AED implementation. Dott Nicholson-Brown Eric Peter Berkowitz Fern McBride Robert Rozema The first training class was held on October 7th at the Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue Training Facility at 2000 NE 16th Street off Federal Highway. 15 residents, Board Members, and employees of the Regency Tower and Southpoint Condominiums received 3 hours of AED/CPR training that resulted in their official certification in those disciplines. Regency Tower’s President Dott Nicholson-Brown was joined by Board Members Eric Peter Berkowitz and Fern McBride along with an aggregate of administrative, security and maintenance staff members to participate in the certification training. GMCA President Robert Rozema accompanied a contingent of Southpoint residents and employees through the training regimen. Thomas Griffin The class was administered by a group of Fort Lauderdale’s Fire-Rescue Training personnel. The certification course organizer, Lieutenant Joe Fox, was the lead professor. He was joined by Fire-Rescue Officers Antonio Yon, Steven Woods and Lieutenant Joe Hernandez. Lieutenant Fox explained how CPR and defibrillators fit into the “Chain of Survival” that could potentially save the lives of SCA victims in our homes. This introductory outline was followed by a video designed to give scope to the practical application of the skills we were about to learn. The team operated as a carefully coordinated, well rehearsed educational machine, each overseeing instruction of a different component of the CPR/AED training. The class was divided into 4 groups of 3-4 people per group. The groups rotated through a variety of training stations, each concentrating on a different aspect of CPR or AED utilization. The training team transformed the potentially intimidating course material (representing the latest in CPR/AED techniques) into an interesting and enjoyable experience. Regency Tower resident Thomas Griffin, a retired New York City Detective, remarked that “the certification class was not only enlightening and informative, but simple enough to be easily digested by anyone.” Upon completion of the course, the students responded to the outstanding educational skills of their instructors Fox, Yon, Woods and Hernandez with a grateful ovation. Surprisingly, the training team returned the compliment, exclaiming that they appreciated the civic concern exhibited by the attending “students”. One of the attendees inquired about “refresher follow-up classes”. Lieutenant Fox put the importance of the AED program into perspective by responding that despite the fiscally despondent condition of the City, it was critically important to nurse the AED program through its initial stages. However, the training resources available for this effort are extremely limited. The condos that make the investment in the AEDs will benefit from the free training offered by the Department. This valuable free training is essentially an incentive to procrastinating Associations to protect their residents ASAP. Those Associations that delay implementing an AED program will have to pay a professional outside agency (American Heart Association, Red Cross, etc.) to obtain identical training for interested residents and employees. Costs associated with the training offered by these agencies currently run from $30 to $45 per person. A word to the wise is sufficient. If your Association has purchased an AED, inquire about the certified training available by calling Galt Mile Community Association Headquarters at (954) 563-6353. Certification classes are being arranged on a first come, first serve basis. ONLY THOSE ASSOCIATIONS THAT HAVE PURCHASED A DEFIBRILLATOR ARE ELIGIBLE FOR THE FREE TRAINING... IF IT'S STILL AVAILABLE ! Click To Top of Page

A Race with the Clock December 28, 2004 - Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is a condition that kills more people than house fires, AIDS, firearms, prostate and breast cancer, and automobile accidents... combined ! In the United States, it attacks about 700 victims every day. Without treatment, the 250,000 unfortunates that SCA strikes annually face a survival rate of less than 5%. There is only one treatment - defibrillation. If defibrillation is administered, survival rates skyrocket to 50%. Defibrillators are inexpensive, portable and so “user friendly” that untrained 10 year-olds have successfully used them to rescue SCA victims. Of the 30 to 40 Florida residents that succumb to SCA every day, 2 or 3 live in Fort Lauderdale. Several years ago, a debate commenced over the efficacy of defibrillators. Proliferating in public venues, Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) sprouted up in airports, bus and train terminals, government buildings, ballparks, stadiums, theaters, shopping malls and public parks. The plummeting cost of defibrillators has made them accessible to almost any household budget. Their similarity to fire extinguishers as an effective yet inexpensive life-saver swiftly popularized the devices. Sudden Cardiac Arrest kills far more people than fires ever did. Every responsible household has a fire extinguisher. Why not a defibrillator? Why not? Defibrillators made people nervous. In deference to technophobes who still stare at their VCR continually blinking 12:00... 12:00... 12:00... defibrillators appear to be a daunting piece of hi-tech wizardry. They have all the intimidating earmarks of equipment that seemingly requires years of training before proficiency is achievable - colored buttons and lights. (This phobic perception is unwarranted in view of the device’s voice capability that actually “talks” a user through an incident.) In addition, there were legal issues. People labored under the assumption that if the person next to you collapsed and you deemed to help, after a few visits to the local courthouse, he would be moving into what used to be your house. Condominium Boards wriggled uncomfortably when reviewing the pros and cons of installing a defibrillator. For years, the specter of a lawsuit delayed the acceptance of defibrillators by litigation-leery Associations. L.A. FITNESS HEALTH CLUB The L.A. Fitness Health Club at 3825 N. Federal Highway is being sued by the family of Alessio Tringali. The 49 year-old Mr. Tringali suffered a fatal collapse on April 3, 2003 while exercising at the Oakland Park fitness facility. The wrongful death lawsuit filed by the victim’s family alleges that supplying a defibrillator may have saved his life. The family of another 51-year-old man who had a fatal heart attack at the Coral Springs L.A. Fitness gym filed a similar lawsuit in July. The legal liability shoe appears to have switched feet. The law is starting to consider the availability of defibrillators to be as important as fire extinguishers in private, as well as public, venues. As with fire safety systems, preparation is the key to liability. In framing the industry-wide liability issue, family attorney Russell Adler stated, “We hope as a result of this litigation and other litigation that is ongoing in the United States that health clubs will take basic measures to save the lives of members who have heart attacks in their clubs.” These legal developments aren’t lost on Association attorneys. The question confronting condo residents and their Boards is no longer, “What will happen to us if we purchase and install a defibrillator?” It is now, “What will happen if we don’t?” Following President Clinton ’s signing the “ Cardiac Arrest Survival Act of 2000 (CASA) ” into federal law, state legislatures across the nation passed some variation of a “Good Samaritan” law designed to encourage public placement and use of defibrillators. These laws originally envisioned deployment by a trained user. The state versions of this immunity from civil liability have been expanding almost annually. As legislators educated themselves about AEDs, they reconfigured their legislation to protect any first responder to an SCA emergency. Chapter 768.1325 of the Florida Statutes, also entitled the “ Cardiac Arrest Survival Act ”, is a work in progress. Originally designed to protect trained personnel, the protection was later extended to any person maintaining, testing or acquiring an Automated External Defibrillator. Subsequently, anyone operating the devise in good faith and any medical professional providing oversight and/or training for its use was also included. During the 2004 legislative session in Tallahassee, laws protecting Condominium Associations, Cooperatives and Homeowner Associations from civil liability were enacted. Senator Walter G. Campbell Jr. Targeting liability for Associations, House Bill 0411 and Senator Walter G. “Skip” Campbell’s Senate Bill 1184 amended the Statute with, “Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, and except as provided in subsection (4), any person who uses or attempts to use an automated external defibrillator device on a victim of a perceived medical emergency, without objection of the victim of the perceived medical emergency, is immune from civil liability for any harm resulting from the use or attempted use of such device . In addition, any person who acquired the device, including, but not limited to, a community association organized under chapter 617, chapter 718, chapter 719, chapter 720, chapter 721, or chapter 723, is immune from such liability...” Chapter 718 is also known as “ The Condominium Act ”. Chapter 719 governs the creation and operation of Cooperatives . Chapter 720 is devoted to Homeowner Associations . Governor Bush signed the bills into law on June 23, 2004. In addition to immunizing Condominiums from civil liability for AED deployment, the new amendment also protects Associations from whimsical insurance vagaries. It states, “An insurer may not require a community association to purchase medical malpractice liability coverage as a condition of issuing any other coverage carried by the association, and an insurer may not exclude damages resulting from the use of an automated defibrillator device from coverage under a general liability policy issued to an association.” Condominium trepidations about civil liability or perceived insurance exposure were mitigated in one fell swoop. There are no longer any “good reasons” to delay acquiring a defibrillator. AED IN REGENCY TOWER LOBBY Galt Mile Associations are overcoming their prior queasiness about installing AEDs. More than half of the 26 Galt Mile Community Association members have equipped their premises with defibrillators. The new legislation has paved the way for the rest to likewise protect their resident-members as well as their individual Associations. The Galt Mile has reinvented itself in the past few years; almost every building has expended substantial resources to upgrade construction, fire safety and security systems. Most residents have friends and relatives in other buildings as well. An unnecessary SCA tragedy will resound throughout the entire community. We can only pray that the unprotected condos win their dangerous race with the clock. The Galt Mile Community Association strongly endorses the installation of a defibrillator in every one of its member Associations. While deciding to emplace an AED is a no-brainer, selecting one is a challenge. Inasmuch, we maintain a substantial segment on our web site with extensive information about Automated External Defibrillators . Every defibrillator is approved by the FDA and is designed for easy use by any untrained first responder. Every concerned Galt Mile resident should support their Board’s acquiring and maintaining this inexpensive device that may one day save their life or that of a loved one. No more dawdling... there’s too much at stake! BTW - As a result of a decision rendered by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on October 20, 2004, AEDs will soon be available to anyone “over the counter”. The Philips HeartStart Home Defibrillator can now be purchased without a prescription. The FDA is currently considering similar applications from other manufacturers. Click To Top of Page

