Copyright 2006 Woodward Communications, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
By EMILY KLEIN
Telegraph Herald (Dubuque, IA)
EPWORTH, Iowa — For more than 20 years an Epworth man has been working to save local lives any way he can.
In addition to being a volunteer firefighter in Epworth, Paul Lenger has dedicated himself to securing funds for medical equipment and personally provides CPR training.
Originally from southern Iowa, Lenger and his wife, Terrie, have lived in Epworth for more than 20 years. He is a special education consultant at Keystone Area Education Agency in Farley. He joined the fire department because it was different from education, and for “selfish reasons” because he wanted to learn how to care for his family in case of a medical emergency.
Every minute a person is not breathing and does not have a pulse they lose 10 percent of their brain functions, Lenger said. So every minute is vital.
That’s why he is dedicated to acquiring automated external defibrillators and CPR training.
His persistence has paid off.
Lenger has helped raise money and earn grants to pay for 10 defibrillators, which are now in every school and church in Epworth.
Three more will soon be placed in St. John Catholic Church in Placid, Iowa, and Holy Family Church and New Melleray Abbey Monastery in Peosta. People who regularly attend or work at the facilities go through a four-hour CPR and defibrillator training session, which Lenger leads.
The machines are ideal because they are “public friendly,” he said. The machines clearly tell users what to do through illustrations and audio. They can also save lives by helping users administer CPR and shocks to the heart until emergency responders arrive.
“It’s a time factor. The earlier CPR and defibrillation is given, the higher the survival rate is,” Lenger said. “There is a delay when you call 911. The people (who serve as EMTs) in this area live at home and have to stop their activities at home or at their business and get to the department, get the unit and then go to the site.”
The machines typically cost between $1,500 and $2,000 each. The Iowa Department of Public Health periodically offers a 50 percent matching grant, and when it does, Lenger lets area schools and businesses know so they can request them. The more he purchases at one time, the bigger the discount, he said.
Epworth Fire Chief Tom Berger has known Lenger since Lenger moved to Epworth.
“I think Paul is just a caring person who wants to make a difference in the community and wants to make it a safer area,” he said.
Lenger also serves as one of two medical officers who design four-month medical training programs for the fire department staff.
“He’s a mentor to all the younger people,” Berger said.