Summer Camp AED Scavenger Hunt Aims to Keep Kids Heart-Safe

For the seventh consecutive year, the Children’s Cardiomyopathy Foundation (CCF), is partnering with the American Camp Association (ACA) for a summer-long AED scavenger hunt. The national initiative challenges campers across the U.S. to locate automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and learn about emergency preparedness and early defibrillation during a cardiac emergency.

CCF founding executive director, Lisa Yue, understands the importance of emergency preparedness and early defibrillation, as she lost two children to cardiomyopathy, a heart disease that is the leading cause of sudden cardiac arrest in the young.

“Children with cardiomyopathy do not always have obvious symptoms and, as such, may not be properly diagnosed, putting them at risk for sudden cardiac death,” said Yue. “By encouraging campers and staff around the country to be involved in this awareness initiative, we can improve the overall response rate and save more lives.”

According to the American Heart Association, only six percent of children who suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survive. CCF’s AED Scavenger Hunt is designed to educate campers and staff about the importance of having accessible and functioning AEDs at camps, knowing their locations, and understanding how to use them during a cardiac emergency.

“The American Camp Association (ACA) is committed to helping camps provide a safe environment for campers,” adds Tom Rosenberg, ACA’s president/CEO. “This AED initiative teaches campers what an AED looks like and how it can help save a life — a powerful tool to learn at camp and use the rest of their lives.” Campers are encouraged to search for an AED at their camp, take a photo of themselves near the AED, and then post the photo and its location on social media outlets such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram with the hashtags #ProtectKidsHearts and #MyCampAED.

The Children’s Cardiomyopathy Foundation(CCF) is a national organization focused on finding causesand cures for all forms of pediatric cardiomyopathy, a chronic and potentially life-threatening heart disease. CCF started in 2002 with one family’s determination to call attention to a poorly understood heart disease and to take action on the lack of medical progress and public awareness. Since then, CCF has grown into a global community of families, physicians, and scientists raising more than $13.5 million for research and education initiatives, family support, and awareness and advocacy measures.