Devices made by a Wisconsin company could become the official automated defibrillator of the city of San Diego under a proposed marketing partnership passed unanimously Wednesday by the City Council’s Budget Committee.
The proposed deal with Cardiac Science Corp. of Waukesha, Wis. — which still needs approval by the full City Council to take effect — could net the city more than $1 million over the next five years, said Natasha Collura, who negotiates sponsorship agreements for the city. The proposed contract is for two years, with three options for one-year renewals.
The deal would allow Cardiac Science to say it is the official AED partner for the city and the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department’s Project Heart Beat, which places the devices in large public locations around the region. Also, the city would promote the company’s AEDs at trade shows and other events.
AEDs provided by Project Heart Beat have saved 126 victims of sudden cardiac arrest in 13 years, said Maureen O’Connor, the program manager for the SDFRD.
Every city Parks and Recreation facility has one, as do most libraries, she said. AEDs are now being carried in some police cars.
Tom Johnson, a Navy veteran and married father of three, told the committee members he was working out in La Jolla on the day after Thanksgiving last year when he collapsed.
His wife, a Navy pediatrician, and another physician began CPR until firefighters arrived around eight to 10 minutes later.
“The first minutes after sudden cardiac arrest are critical to raising your chance of survival,” Johnson said. “In San Diego today, if you suffer (sudden cardiac arrest) outside of a hospital, your chance of survival are 5 to 8 percent. Those numbers are horrific.”
Johnson, who calls himself “a walking miracle,” said the survival odds increase to 70-80 percent if an AED is used within two minutes of a heart failure.
O’Connor said her goal was to make AEDs as accessible as fire extinguishers.
— City News Service