A trained emergency medical technician with several decades of experience, Gary Reis currently owns and operates Med Tech, an ambulance service company that serves 14 hospitals and over 90 nursing homes in the Pawtucket, Rhode Island, area. Active in the local community, Gary Reis and Med Tech donated a number of automated external defibrillators (AED) to the Pawtucket Parks Commission for use in youth sports activities.
Cardiomyopathy, a chronic heart disease, affects around 30,000 children in the United States and is often undiagnosed. It is the leading cause of cardiac arrest, which only 10 percent of children survive. With nearly 50 million children participating in organized sports each year, the need for safety has never been higher.
According to research from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, survival rates can increase to over 50 percent when defibrillation occurs within several minutes of cardiac arrest. The availability of AEDs to youth sports team, as well as the training of coaches and staff in their operation, is essential to the prevention of deaths among young athletes.
Cardiomyopathy, a chronic heart disease, affects around 30,000 children in the United States and is often undiagnosed. It is the leading cause of cardiac arrest, which only 10 percent of children survive. With nearly 50 million children participating in organized sports each year, the need for safety has never been higher.
According to research from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, survival rates can increase to over 50 percent when defibrillation occurs within several minutes of cardiac arrest. The availability of AEDs to youth sports team, as well as the training of coaches and staff in their operation, is essential to the prevention of deaths among young athletes.
