At the kindergarten party and an information evening, the focus was on the proper use of a life-saving defibrillator. Lothar metz, the organizer, and city council members bernhard schlereth and klaus bollwein (both CSU) have long wanted to install a defibrillator in their district. Through a crowdfunding initiative with the VR-bank bad kissingen this is now finally to be realized. In principle, the aim is to collect donations to finance the AED defibrillator (automated external defibrillator). The VR-bank adds another 10 euro to every donation of at least 10 euro.
This idea also met with great interest from the local clubs and the two city councilors who, together with metz, initiated the fundraising campaign. The responsible persons have a good 80 days to collect the necessary donations, which in the case of poppenroth means a sum of 4650 euros. There is no risk for the donors, because if there are not enough donations for the project by the 30th of the year, the orga-team will find a solution.If donations are received by june, the bank will return them to the sender. Metz and his supporters are convinced that it will work and that a technical lifesaver will be installed at the fire station in the district of poppenroth from the summer onwards. "If only one life was saved, then the whole effort was worth it", the orga-team finds.
Supporters have them right outside the door. Emergency physician michaela ritter and her husband jens (emergency paramedic) both recently moved to poppenroth. At the kindergarten party and at an information evening at the fire station, the professional life-savers explained the proper use of a defibrillator. Interested citizens were amazed at how easy it is for first responders to operate this device. As soon as the helper opens the lid of the device, a voice gives instructions on what to do. Two self-adhesive pads have to be attached to the patient: one pad goes on the right chest and the second one under the heart on the left side. The device checks whether the patient is in heart fibrillation and gives instructions point by point.
"You can’t do anything wrong, but you don’t do anything wrong", says emergency doctor michaela ritter. Her husband jens informed from the emergency paramedic’s point of view about the time available for a successful life-saving operation. The rule of thumb for ventricular fibrillation is that the chances of a successful rescue increase by approx. 10 percent dwindle. For those who listened to the events, the numbers were staggering, because every poppenroth resident knows that it takes about ten minutes to get from bad kissingen to poppenroth by car.
In order for the defibrillator to hang on the fire station, the organizers are still dependent on donations. "Everyone can contribute a small amount to a great cause and maybe save a life", says bollwein. Until the end of june you can still pay into the donation pot. Donations go to VR-bank crowdfunding, IBAN: DE39 7906 5028 0100 0005 74, purpose AED poppenroth, at VR-bank bad kissingen e.G.