Irene D’Aloisio, President
On February 27, 30 members of the Sun Lakes Pickleball Club Cottonwood (SLPCC) gathered in the Phoenix Room in Cottonwood to learn how to save the lives of people in distress. The Sun Lakes Fire Department/Arizona Fire and Medical Authority (AFMA) provided CAP members to lead a class in how to use Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) devices, learn Heimlich maneuvers for choking and teach us how to perform hands-free cardiac resuscitation. The CAP members were patient, kind and fully informative on these methods. They brought along their own equipment which included dummies and AED devices so everyone could get hands-on training. The class determined AEDs are much less intimidating once you’ve used them. It gives step-by-step instructions, testing the patient’s conditions along the way and telling you what else to do. They are ready to step up in case someone needed help. It is a good feeling, they said, to know when and how to use these methods.
So how does getting AED training for SLPCC members help our community? It puts 30 more people on the street, courts and golf courses. That’s 30 more people who have AED training. Of course, it does not supersede any medical treatment, but the data shows survival rates are higher when AED and other methods are used in life-saving situations. Since we are a 55+ community, the odds are more likely that there could be an incident which should involve the use of an AED. Pickleball members are on the courts for a good portion of the day and will be able to help should the need arise, until medical help arrives. Whether it is on the pickleball courts, the tennis courts or just helping someone out for a walk and in trouble, we feel a little better knowing we can help each other, and it might even be you.
AED/CCR Training is generally given on the first Friday of the month. The SLPCC hopes to get training for at least 60 more of its members, because it’s good for us and good for the community. You can get this training, too, at no cost to you. All you need to do is call the AFMA who will make arrangements with the Sun Lakes Fire Department to get you into a class at their Alma School and Riggs Road facility. The phone number is 623-544-5400.
So… get scheduled! It’s free, it’s close to home and it can save a life.