Public Access Defibrillators Could Save Your Life  

The Telluride Watch
Published:10/20/06

By Thomas Wirth

The Mountain Village Town Council approved funding for public access AEDs, defibrillators for resuscitating cardiac arrest victims, at their meeting on Oct. 10.

The request came from the Telluride Public Access Defibrillator Program (T-PAD), “a grassroots organization of local public safety and medical professionals dedicated to making defibrillators widely available in Telluride,” and was presented by Mountain Village Police Chief Dale Wood, a member of T-PAD.

According to T-PAD member Dr. Mark Rosenthal, “An AED is an exceptionally safe device for resuscitating cardiac arrest victims. It is specifically designed to be deployed by the non-medical public. Communities with Public Access AED and CPR programs have significantly increased survival rates for victims of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.”

“Public access” is a bit of a misnomer for the devices. The units would not be freely open to the public, but would be located in public areas where they would be accessible by trained personnel. Chief Wood indicated that a large number of Mountain Village staff, including Gondola and Dial-a-Ride operators, are scheduled for training to operate the units.

T-PAD is hoping to encourage the public to receive training on the units as well. “Dr. Rosenthal’s concept is to, within a years time, have 100 percent of the community trained,” said Chief Wood.

“There seems to be unanimous agreement that this will save a life, if not more than one,” said Mayor Davis Fansler, in support of the measure.

T-PAD has identified 43 locations for public access AEDs throughout the Town of Telluride and Mountain Village. Mountain Village was asked to add financing for five AED units and two heated cabinets to be placed at the St. Sophia Gondola Station, the Parking Gondola Station, Conference Center Plaza, Heritage Plaza and the Meadows Post Office.

The Mountain Village Police Department is also requesting the funding of four units within their annual budget, those units to be located in police vehicles. They would replace existing units, with future requests anticipated to include the entire police department fleet.

AEDs have already been installed at the Telluride Town Park, Telluride Gondola Station and Mountain Village Gondola Station, and several units are owned and operated by Telluride Ski and Golf.

Five units are currently on order for the Telluride R-1 School District, and one each for the Telluride Medical Center lobby, the Wilkinson Public Library, Ophir Town Hall and the Franz Klammer and Peaks Hotel.

The units cost approximately $2,000 apiece, with cabinets ranging from $200 to $400 depending on whether they need to be heated. Private and other public funding is being solicited by T-PAD for the remainder of the units.