Malverne police patrol cars have been equipped with life-saving defibrillators, according to Mayor Tony Panzarella. At this time, nearly all of Malverne's police officers have been trained in the use of the devices.
The defibrillators were installed on Feb. 21, said police lieutenant Glen Jacobsen.
These devices are invaluable to our community and are designed to save lives. I am sincerely grateful to everyone who has assisted in bringing this project to fruition, said Panzarella.
Malverne's move to install and train its officers on defibrillator use was timely, considering recent legislation passed by New York State that allows non-medical personnel to use them to shock the heart back to life during sudden cardiac arrest.
According to the American Heart Association, defibrillation is now considered the definitive treatment for ventricular fibrillation, the most common cause of sudden cardiac arrest. It is the single leading cause of death in the United States, claiming nearly 1,000 lives each day.
Malverne Village paid for the two automated external defibrillators with $7,000 in funds raised through the Mayor's Charity Golf Outing held last year. Additional money raised from the event will go toward offsetting the cost of training police officers on the use of the devices, Panzarella said.
The American Heart Association has reported that two out of three cardiac arrest deaths occur even before a patient reaches the hospital, and that the onset of sudden cardiac arrest is unpredictable and is indiscriminate with regard to gender or age.
According to the AHA, defibrillators can increase survival rate by over 300 percent.
I'm told that for every minute that goes by without defibrillation, chances of survival decrease by ten percent, said Panzarella. Having the devices deployed out on the road in our police cars with trained policemen will ensure that they are on the scene of an emergency within a very short period of time.
The mayor thanked Dr. John Hassett, Jr., for his help as medical director of the program, and praised Bill Malone, Malverne Ambulance Corps President, and Vice President Matt Crimmins for taking on the responsibility of training the police on use of the devices. Panzarella said he would like to see deployment of defibrillators expanded in the near future to include the Malverne Police Reserve.
