Press Releases

Medic and their partners from the Mecklenburg Medical Alliance and Endowment (MMAE) announced the donation of 14 AEDs to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System (CMS) through the Lucky Hearts Campaign, an AED/CPR focused initiative started by the two organizations in 2009. Medic will also be training 140 individuals from across the CMS high schools that are receiving an AED in both CPR and AED usage over the course of the next two months.

 With this donation, all CMS high schools will now have at least two AEDs on campus; one for the campus itself and one for athletics. This donation and training is valued at more than $30,000.

"We are very pleased to be able to partner with CMS and help them realize their goal of providing the safest possible environment for their students, faculty and community members," said MMAE President Debi Faubion. "Sudden cardiac arrest will kill more than a half million people in the United States this year, and no one can say when or where it will occur. By outfitting our schools with AEDs and providing training to faculty and students, we are insuring that life-saving measures can be taken in a timely fashion should the unthinkable occur on one of CMS’s campuses; this investment very well could make the difference between life and death for a member of this community."

Since January 2009, the Lucky Hearts Campaign has trained a total of 940 Mecklenburg County residents in CPR and AED usage. The campaign has also donated a total of 36 AEDs throughout the county.

"One of the surest ways to increase survival rates for people who suffer sudden cardiac arrest is to train members of the community to step in and intervene as a bystander by performing effective CPR and utilizing an AED, should one be available," said Medic’s Director of Public Relations, Jeff Keith. "This is done through public education, aggressive training initiatives and widespread deployment of AEDs. The Lucky Hearts Campaign is committed to carrying this message throughout the community for as long as it takes to see AEDs and trained bystanders as prevalent as fire extinguishers."

If interested in nominating a business or an organization for an AED or to make a financial donation to the Lucky Hearts Campaign, which will help provide more AEDs in the community, please visit http://www.medic911.com/lucky_hearts/aed_donations or www.mmaeonline.com. The campaign will continue to train and donate AEDs to approved organizations through 2010 and beyond.

Mecklenburg Medical Alliance and Endowment is a non-profit organization that seeks to advocate for a healthier Charlotte-Mecklenburg County. The organization’s membership is primarily made up of physician’s spouses from across Mecklenburg County.

Medic has served as Mecklenburg County’s EMS Agency since 1978. With more than 400 employees and a fleet consisting of more than 90 emergency response assets, including ambulances, mass casualty vehicles, ATVs and paramedic equipped bicycles, Medic will respond to at least 95,000 calls received by the Agency’s 911 emergency response dispatch center in 2010 alone. For more information about Medic, please log on to the Agency’s website at www.medic911.com.

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