September 14, 2005 Contact: Sue Baker
For Immediate Release 738-2000, ext. 6205
Avedisian announces creation of HeartSafe Warwick Task Force
Mayor Scott Avedisian announced today the creation, by executive order, of the Warwick HeartSafe Task Force, which is charged with studying and improving upon how the city responds to a sudden death.
Citing the recent tragedy of a Lincoln High School athlete who collapsed on a baseball field, Avedisian noted that Lincoln officials say changes of the youth’s survival would have likely been better if the school had a defibrillator nearby.
“The entire community needs to be able to respond to these types of events – from notifying 911, to starting CPR, to use of and AED,” Avedisian said. “All of these things can and should happen before Fire Department personnel arrive on the scene for the victim to have the best chance of survival.”
The group’s goals are to: review prevalence of sudden death, such as cardiac arrest, in Warwick; review and assess the community’s current ability to respond to sudden death with respect to first responder and EMS response, availability of CPR-trained personnel; and automatic external defibrillator (AED) availability; review and plan for implementation of pending state Department of Health “HeartSafe Community” criteria in Warwick; and make recommendations for training the community in CPR/AED use, assisting with funding for AED programs, promoting placement of AEDs in Warwick schools, athletic facilities and public gathering places and providing cost-effective, user-friendly educational resources for CPR/AED training.
The task force will bring together the necessary people from “a number of our municipal departments, along with major representation from the private sector, including Kent Hospital, area health clubs and the YMCA, as well as private businesses,” Avedisian said.
Avedisian has named Dr. Joseph Spinale, a cardiologist and Board of Public Safety member, to chair the group. “Dr. Spinale has been very active in this area of medicine and serves on the American Heart Association’s Emergency Cardiac Care Committee,” he said. “As vice chairman of our Board of Public Safety, he is the ideal person to bring everyone together.”
Avedisian also appointed the following to serve: Dave Kurowski of the Fire Department; Warwick Police Lt. Mike Higgins; Parks and Recreation Department Deputy Director Mike Rooney; Pat Seltzer, RN, of the Pilgrim Senior Center; Emo DiNitto, supervisor of athletics for the Warwick School Department; Denise Bezila of Kent Hospital; Steve Aiello of the Kent County YMCA; Barbara Haydon, RN, of the Care New England Wellness Center; and Jeff Johnson of Beacon Mutual Insurance Company; and Joe Madden from MetLife.