By Edward D. Murphy
The Portland Press Herald
OLD ORCHARD BEACH, Maine — Rarely does a campground get to boast that it’s on the cutting edge, but Jason Ahearn, whose family owns the Powder Horn Family Camping Resort, thinks his business is there.
In addition to the normal attractions of a campground — the miniature golf course, shuffleboard courts and pools — Powder Horn now has something a little out of the ordinary: two defibrillators.
''Before long, you’ll see them everywhere,’' Ahearn said Tuesday, noting that the devices are popping up in airports, on planes and in schools.
Defibrillators are a staple of television medical dramas.
A patient is brought in, the doctor grabs the paddles from the crash cart, yells ''Clear!’' and zaps the patient back to life.
In real life, getting a person’s heart beating regularly again is a little less theatrical.
The automated external defibrillator at Powder Horn has a computerized voice that walks the user through several simple steps, so that the device is used correctly.
It includes a fail-safe mechanism that evaluates the heartbeat and prevents the defibrillator from being used on a healthy person.
Powder Horn bought the devices and got its staff trained in their use earlier this summer.
One is near the pool and the other is near the office, in a metal box mounted on a wall.
The box is equipped with an alarm to discourage people from handling the defibrillator unless it’s needed.
There’s also one at the Hidden Pines campground next door, which also is owned by Ahearn’s family.
The salesman was Brian Mercer, who has stayed at the campground for several years and is an Emergency Medical Services technician in Boston.
Mercer said he started selling defibrillators after a 17-year-old boy in the Boston area died while running on a high school track. If a defibrillator had been available, Mercer said, he likely would have lived.
''Being an EMT, it’s very frustrating to get there and everyone’s in a panic and not doing anything,’' Mercer said.
''People have got to know, you’ve got to start this in a few minutes or you’ll be dead.’'
The American Heart Association agrees.
Brenda Quinn, communications director for the Maine chapter of the association, said the chances of survival go down about 10 percent every minute a patient in cardiac arrest isn’t treated.
So, five minutes of waiting for an ambulance to arrive gives the person about a 50-50 chance of making it, she said, and 10 minutes means there’s little chance of survival.
''Even if there’s a doctor there, if you don’t have that shock available, it could mean a death,’' she said.
Quinn said the association doesn’t track the installation of defibrillators, but she sees them more and more in schools, public safety vehicles and other public facilities in Maine.
Part of the reason is that the cost has come down.
She said a typical price is about $2,000, including training, and she has seen prices as low as $1,200 for the device itself.
Both Mercer and Quinn said it’s also important for people to know cardiopulmonary resuscitation, which can also increase a person’s chance of survival until medical help arrives.
Rick Abare, executive director of the Maine Campground Owners Association, said he hasn’t heard of any other campgrounds installing defibrillators.
He said the association encourages campgrounds to make sure that workers know CPR, and installing defibrillators will likely be the next trend.
''I would suspect there would be a continuation’’ of campgrounds buying the devices, Abare said. ''It’s a move toward safety, and $2,000 sounds like a lot, but not if it saves a life.’'
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