The Light House Receives AED Donation To Help Save Lives

ANNAPOLIS, MD — The Light House Homeless Prevention Support Center received a life-saving donation in the form of a Medtronic LifePak 500 AED. The defibrillator was donated by HeartSmart, The Cliff R. Roop Cardiac Support and Education Foundation.

"We are so grateful to HeartSmart for this donation," said Light House Executive Director Jo Ann Mattson. "The Light House building at 10 Hudson Street houses our emergency residential program where 45 individuals, five families and up to 20 children call home. In this same building, we also serve an average of 100 non-residential community members each day through hot meals, case management, housing and diversion services, clothing, showers, and laundry. Add our many staff members and volunteers to these numbers and we are averaging well over 300 people walking through our doors each day. It is important to us that we do all we can to keep everyone at Light House safe. Both our Light House mission and the HeartSmart mission are centered around the belief that every life is precious, and we are thankful for their support and for the great work they do in Anne Arundel County."

The new AED unit has been placed in one of the main ground floor hallways of The Light House facility for easy access in case of an emergency. AEDs are considered important tools to have to have in buildings like The Light House, because they allow minimally trained people to treat victims of sudden cardiac arrest. Every day in Anne Arundel County, a person’s heart suddenly stops beating as a result of sudden cardiac arrest. An AED placed in businesses, community centers or gathering places can increase the chance of survival to 75 percent.