Heart Safe news: Our weekly update on what’s happening in the world of heart safety and noninvasive cardiology

Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association remembers co-founder Jack Grogan

In 2002, retired IBM executive Jack Grogan suffered sudden cardiac arrest while on an airplane awaiting takeoff from Chicago. Revived using an onboard automated external defibrillator (AED), Grogan subsequently underwent triple-bypass surgery. The experience inspired him to campaign for AED awareness and to co-found the national Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association (SCAA).

Grogan also worked as a volunteer for the San Jose, California, Fire Department and helped launch the city’s HeartSafe City Project, which expanded the city’s AED program and provides AED training. He lobbied on behalf of California AED legislation requiring defibrillators in fitness centers and health clubs.

Grogran, 73, died February 28 after suffering a second sudden cardiac arrest. He had just gotten off a flight at the San Jose airport on his way back from an SCAA board meeting in Washington, D.C. Bystanders administered CPR and used an airport defibrillator to try to revive him, but this time rescue efforts were unsuccessful.

“In an industry that is distinct in its reliance on bold and brave advocacy voices to advance the cause for education and action in our society, Jack Grogan stood tall,” said Mike Brode, Cardiac Science’s Director of Strategic Business. “Jack’s personal experiences, unique passion, and conviction regarding sudden cardiac arrest created a level of awareness that was both rare and long-lasting.  The hard work he applied to this special cause will live on in the leadership being provided by the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association and the great work that group continues to build upon to encourage AED deployments, CPR training and overall preparedness among communities everywhere.”

The SCAA has created the Jack Grogan Memorial AED Fund for gifts in his honor.

A model for health information systems — in rural Idaho

Steele Memorial Medical Center in Salmon, Idaho

An 18-bed hospital in Salmon, Idaho, is not the first place you’d expect to find comprehensive implementation of an electronic health records (EHR) system. But Steele Memorial Medical Center, profiled in Hospitals & Health Networks last week, has managed to get almost every aspect of its records wired — including emergency room internet connectivity with regional specialty hospitals to make patient transfer decisions.

Key elements of the medical center’s success:

• Strongly leadership from the CIO, who sold the idea to the medical center’s board
• A board that saw the connection between an EHR system and quality of patient care and safety
• Empowering “super users” outside the center’s IT department to lead their own areas and train their colleagues
• Fostering computer literacy in all areas of the staff, from radiology to housekeeping

Related Products

• Powerheart AED G3 Plus
• Powerheart AED G3 Fully Automatic and Semi-automatic
• Powerheart AED G3 Pro
• Powerheart AED G3 Trainer
• AED Program Management

Last 5 posts

• Cardiac Science AEDs in Spain [VIDEO] - April 4th, 2011
• Cardiac Science wins first major public access defibrillation program in Europe - March 30th, 2011
• Georgia Park saves 5 lives with AEDs - March 24th, 2011
• Sad stories, avoidable deaths? - March 23rd, 2011
• Texas school's AED saves 6-year-old's life - March 22nd, 2011

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