EnCana donates defibrillators

Published Thursday, February 21, 2008

By Denny Deady

As part of EnCana's commitment to community investment, the oil and gas company has donated 12 portable defibrillators to five school districts, including Decatur.

Donations were made to school districts where EnCana has drilling operations. Decatur ISD received four of the defibrillators while two each were donated to Buffalo, Fairfield, Teague and Franklin ISDs. The districts will place them in locations with the greatest need.

The project is in conjunction with HeartSine Technologies, which is working with EnCana on the presentation, delivery and training with the defibrillators.

According to Nancy Farrar, who handles public relations for EnCana Oil & Gas, the easy-to-use portable defibrillators can be used by anyone encountering a situation on campus where someone's heart has stopped beating, be it a student, teacher, athlete or a visitor.

Each year, more than 250,000 Americans die from sudden cardiac arrest. The American Heart Association believes at least 20,000 lives could be saved annually by prompt use of AEDs (automated external defibrillators).

State legislators, including those from Texas, have become actively involved with the issue in the past six years. All 50 states have enacted defibrillator laws or adopted regulations.

Trained, non-medical personnel can use the AEDs to treat a person in cardiac arrest. The AED device "guides the user through the process by audible or visual prompts without requiring any discretion of judgment," according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.