Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

New Lifesaving Device at Crosslines

Michele Skalicky

Another community organization has a lifesaving device ready to go if it's needed.  AED Solutions, a program of Ozarks Technical Community College, presented Crosslines with an automatic external defibrillator or AED.  Crosslines, a food pantry run by Council of Churches of the Ozarks, requested the device from AED Solutions to provide emergency support to its clients, volunteers and staff. 
 
AED's can help when someone suffers sudden cardiac arrest.  A heart's normal rhythm can be restored with an electric shock delivered by an AED. 
 
Crosslines director Tom Faulkner said they serve approximately 50,000 people annually.  They operate 100 percent on donations, he said, so an AED isn't something they could purchase on their own.

"Our focus is completely on food assistance.  A piece of equpment like this costs between $2200 and $2500, so whenever we're talking that the pantry can provide about 12 meals for $5.55.  When you equate that to a $2200 piece of equipment, there's just no way that we could be able to afford that," he said.

AED Solutions provides help meeting state and city requirements needed to have an AED, and they provide training.
 
Beth Perkins, AED Solutions coordinator, said OTC offers it because there's no other program like it in the community.

"And we feel like these are lifesaving devices, and to help these statistics go up, we need to be in the community and allowing these devices but then we also need to provide what you need to keep this device," she said.

AED Solutions has given out 193 of the devices since it came under the OTC umbrella.

Michele Skalicky has worked at KSMU since the station occupied the old white house at National and Grand. She enjoys working on both the announcing side and in news and has been the recipient of statewide and national awards for news reporting. She likes to tell stories that make a difference. Michele enjoys outdoor activities, including hiking, camping and leisurely kayaking.