| Evergreen Public Access Defibrillation |
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Evergreen Public Access Defibrillation (EPAD) is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to facilitate access to automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to dramatically increase the survival of victims of sudden cardiac arrest.
EPAD, which is comprised of paramedics and volunteers who donate their time to make the Evergreen, Colorado community "heart safe", has placed twenty-eight life saving devices in high-risk, high volume public places.
Automated external defibrillators are small portable devices that detect ventricular fibrillation (an unorganized, lethal heart rhythm) and provide an electrical charge that allows the heart to return to an organized rhythm.
Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is one of the leading causes of death among adults in the United States, killing around 310,000 people annually. Without the availability of an AED, the chance of survival for a victim of SCA decreases 10 percent every minute he or she is in arrest. Without defibrillation, 90-95 percent of victims die.
EPAD is committed to increasing the likelihood of survival from SCA by working to place close to 50 AEDs throughout the Evergreen community.
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