NCR takes safety lead with first defibrillator

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

NCR, one of Peachtree City's most safety-conscious industries, has just made things a little safer.

The company recently purchased an automated external defibrillator, which can help restore a normal heartbeat to a cardiac arrest victim before emergency personnel reach the scene.

NCR is the first industry to purchase an AED, but Christ Our Shepherd Lutheran Church plans to purchase its first one soon and several other groups have expressed interest, said Peachtree City firefighter Chris Campbell.

The fire department is encouraging making the devices commonly available in any areas where there are large gatherings of people, Campbell said. Jim Christopher of NCR said the AEDs help improve survivability rates over 25 percent.

"That's a marked improvement," said Christopher, who is also a volunteer firefighter.

City Hall, Kedron Fieldhouse and The Gathering Place senior citizens center have been equipped with AEDs for some time now, Campbell said. AEDs are also on many emergency responder vehicles in Peachtree City including police patrol cars.

Although the Fire Department's response times are better than the national average, the extra few seconds between the AED's arrival and the paramedics arrival can make a big difference, Campbell added.

NCR's AED, which is encased in a black and yellow box, has simple instructions and users are aided with a computerized voice. When a medical emergency occurs at NCR, the box will be carried to the scene along with other equipment by the company's emergency response team, Christopher said.

The box has simple instructions on where to place the electrodes and perform the procedure. It will communicate if the victim needs to be shocked and all the operator has to do is push a button to administer the shock.

"You don't have to be specially trained to operate these things," he said.

The AED unit chosen by NCR is compatible with equipment used by the fire department, meaning the electrodes can be unhooked from NCR's machine and plugged into Peachtree City's equipment so the victim can be taken to the hospital.

NCR's AED also records the voice of the operator and information received from the electrodes so they can be studied later on a computer, Campbell said. AEDs typically cost around $4,000.

Including NCR employees, temp workers, delivery drivers and visitors, there can be as many as 700 people in the building at one time, Christopher said.

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