Life Saving Devices Donated To Addiction Treatment Facilities

Pictured l-r, Robin Clouden and William Burgin from Alcohol and Drug Dependency Services, with Univera Healthcare President Art Wingerter.

Three residential treatment facilities for adults working to break the grip of chemical dependency are better equipped to respond to life-threatening emergencies, thanks to a Univera Healthcare donation of three automated external defibrillator units. The three sites are in the city of Buffalo and are associated with Alcohol and Drug Dependency Services Foundation, Inc., more familiar to Western New Yorkers as Kids Escaping Drugs.

“Many of the courageous people who come to these facilities for help and treatment have compromised health conditions due to previous alcohol and drug use,” said Robin A. Clouden, executive director, Alcohol and Drug Dependency Services Foundation. “We’re grateful to Univera Healthcare for this donation, and for the company’s previous donation of two AED units to our Renaissance Campus in West Seneca where young people are treated for chemical addictions,”

“It’s important to have these devices within reach, because the likelihood of resuscitation decreases by about 10 percent with every minute that passes,” said Art Wingerter, Univera Healthcare president. “Immediate use of an AED, in conjunction with CPR, offers a chance at survival.”

The current national survival rate for sudden cardiac arrest is less than 5 percent. When a cardiac event happens, every second counts, because permanent brain damage can occur within minutes. According to the American Heart Association, each year an additional 40,000 American lives could be saved with widespread access to defibrillators.

“Univera Healthcare has placed more than 150 AED units into service across upstate New York, including AEDs donated to the Erie, Wyoming and Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Departments,” said Wingerter. “In rural areas, a Sheriff is often the first responder to a medical emergency. “
The AED units donated by Univera Healthcare are manufactured by Philips and are about the size of a child’s lunch box. They are fully automated and issue voice commands to coach the user in its operation, including the proper administration of CPR with a metronome beat that helps users count and time CPR chest compressions. If the unit’s chest pads sense a pulse, it will not allow an electrical charge to be administered.