UPMC reports six month wait for AEDs due to chip shortage.

https://cbs6albany.com/news/local/m...g-medical-devices-as-need-for-aeds-grows


Dauphin County, PA — Michael Acri was waiting his turn to shoot trap in February when he went into sudden cardiac arrest – and died.

“I’m standing there with my shotgun broke open on my toe and the next thing I know, the ground came up and hit me in the face,” Acri told CBS 21 News’ Samantha York. “That’s the last thing I remember till waking up in an ambulance.”

Two of Acri’s fellow shooters had medical backgrounds. It’s because of their lifesaving efforts, he’s here.

“They immediately felt for a pulse, they immediately started CPR, they immediately called 911 and they immediately went for an AED,” UPMC Department of Cardiovascular Services Chairman Dr. Michael Bosak explained. “Without CPR, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

“If you’re an individual that suffers cardiac arrest outside the hospital, your chances of making it into the hospital are pretty slim,” UPMC Harrisburg Cardiac Surgeon Dr. Dave Loran continued.

“The friends in the field are the ones who saved Mike’s life,” Dr. Bosak added. “We wouldn’t have been needed if they hadn’t done what they had done.”

An automated external defibrillator (AED) happened to be near Acri on the day of his heart attack. And his fellow shooters happened to be educated to know where it was and how to use it.

“If we can get a defibrillator shock on a patient who is in a lethal heart rhythm within the first five minutes, their survival goes up significantly,” Dr. Bosak said.



The worst day of Acri’s life turned out to be his luckiest because of the people and the equipment around him. But The Peyton Walker Foundation says surviving shouldn’t be luck. Its 4-Minute City program is pushing out hundreds of Avive AEDs into communities, making them more accessible in less time.

“EMS currently is about an 8-15 minute arrival time,” The Peyton Walker Foundation Managing Director Asheleigh Forsburg said. “And every minute that someone is in cardiac arrest without an AED, they lose 10% chance of survival.”

But a microchip shortage poses a threat to AED production.

“We are six months out from receiving AEDs,” Forsburg explained. “We ordered in January and we just received them today so we have a backlog of about 35 organizations that have been promised AEDs that are desperate for them.”

Medical devices don’t get priority when it comes to microchip supply. In fact, they only make up about 1% of that supply. It’s especially threatening at a time when healthcare staffing shortages continue and the population in Pennsylvania remains one of the oldest in the country.

“We have no control over supply,” Dr. Loran said. “But whatever supply we can get our hands on, we want to disperse to the community as quickly as possible.”

The Centers for Disease Control estimates that over 800,000 Americans suffer a heart attack each year. Medical professional emphasize the need for more AEDs to get into the community to give people, like Acri, a second shot.

“It saves lives,” Acri said.

UPMC says it goes beyond availability, though. They, and other health systems, have teamed up with The Peyton Walker Foundation to educate the community on how to use AEDs through its 4-Minute City Program. More information on the 4-Minute City program can be found here.

UPMC Harrisburg, West Shore, Hanover and Memorial recently were awarded the American College of Cardiology’s NCDR Chest Pain – MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award, recognizing its commitment to care for heart attack patients.


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