By Kim King of Odessa Public Development Authority
The importance of Automated Electronic Defibrillator (AED) and CPR training became all too real when an AED saved Steve Jantz’s life during a high school volleyball game last October. Jantz is a 1981 graduate of Odessa High School. The AED, located in the school’s gymnasium, and the quick actions of another Odessa graduate, Brandi (Deife) Maioho, saved his life. The Odessa High School volleyball team was scheduled to play Wilbur that evening and witnessed Jantz suffer cardiac arrest and crumple to the gym floor. Maioho started using the defibrillator, giving Jantz the first shock within 90 seconds. When the students heard the good news that Jantz was alive and would recover, they all agreed that everyone should receive AED training.
AEDs have been a focus of The Odessa Healthcare Foundation (OHF) as well. Statistics show that if the first shock is given within a minute, the survival rate is 90 percent. With this statistic in mind, the OHF foundation has raised funds and placed AEDs throughout the Odessa community. The locations include the US Post Office, Old Town Hall, and the Odessa Community Center. There is also an AED located in the basement of the high school gym.
The Odessa Healthcare Foundation and the Odessa High School Future Business Leaders of American (FBLA) combined forces to train over 90 high school students and 12 adults in the proper use an AED and apply CPR to save a life. There was no charge to the recipients and the costs were paid in part by money from a grant the Odessa Healthcare Foundation received from the Washington Health Foundation.
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