Expanding Our International Community Outreach

August 4, 2023

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Though Defibtech is based in the United States, we are a global company that has shipped AEDs all over the world. A major goal within our company is to ensure we are supporting mission-based community work.  Throughout the last couple of years, we have spent a lot of time, energy, and resources to grow our community engagement throughout the United States and are very proud of the impact we have had and continue to make.

Our goal this year was to expand our community outreach internationally. So, we started with a trip to Ireland and the United Kingdom.

Starting in Ireland

First off, in Ireland, we connected with our distributor, Safety Ireland. We partnered with In A Heartbeat, Sacred Heart University, and Safety Ireland on a project in a rural community called Dingle. This community is very isolated and they have limited resources to respond to a sudden cardiac arrest. The project included the donation of 8 Automated External Defibrillators and kicked of the official launch of the Heart Safe Campaign being run by Sacred Heart University in Dingle. In addition to the donation of AEDs, 120 people within the community will receive free CPR & AED training, to be better prepared to respond to a sudden cardiac arrest emergency.

In addition to deploying AEDs in Dingle, we had meetings for future collaboration with The Irish Heart Foundation, Heart Children Dublin, and Cry Ireland. The Irish Heart Foundation’s mission is to eliminate preventable death and disability from heart disease and stroke and to support and care for those living with these life-changing conditions. The mission and vision of Heart Children is to support people with congenital heart disease (CHD) so they live confidently, stay well and enjoy life to its fullest. They aim to create a society where all those with CHD are empowered to live more confident and independent lives. CRY Ireland works to raise awareness of the condition known as Sudden Cardiac Death or Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS), through media campaigns and informational meetings.

Heading to the UK

Following a successful trip to Ireland, we traveled to the UK to meet with the British Heart Foundation, Yorkshire Ambulance Service Charity, and Community Heartbeat Trust. The British Heart Foundation runs consignment shops all over the UK where the proceeds support their mission, which is to fund around £100 million of research each year for all heart and circulatory diseases and their causes. Yorkshire Ambulance Service works to place AEDs in their community with underfunded organizations in need. The Community Heartbeat Trust (CHT) is a charity that aims to help and support communities in the correct provision of defibrillators, but in sustainable, resilient, and governance-led manner.

Sudden cardiac arrest can affect people of all ages. When a community loses someone to sudden cardiac arrest, it is devastating. Many of these groups work closely in their communities to deploy AEDs, train people in CPR & AED use, and raise the overall awareness of sudden cardiac arrest. Although some of these organizations are small, they are very mighty with a passionate group of people behind them. We understand the importance of their life-saving work and are proud to support their initiatives however we can.

Our Commitment Grows

Although this was just a start, we plan to continue growing our outreach internationally and to have a positive impact all over the world.

To learn more about Defibtech and to join us on our quest to save lives from sudden cardiac arrest, visit www.Defibtech.com.