Sports health and safety expo raises funds for 13 defibrillators for Warwick school district

Warwick n St. Anthony Community Hospital joined the Warwick Valley School District and Horizon Family Medical Group to sponsor a free health and safety fair at Warwick Valley High School on March 24. The all day event featured health, first aid and safety lectures as well as hands-on workstations. Visitors were also invited to take advantage of free clinical evaluations including pulmonary function testing, blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol screening. Additional sponsors included Frozen Ropes, the American Heart Association and Philips Medical Systems. Approximately 30 Health and Fitness vendors were on hand. The goal of the expo was to raise money to purchase life saving Automated External Defibrillators for all sports teams as well as to raise awareness of public access to defibrillators and to educate the public on common emergencies. The on-site user-friendly defibrillators can save lives in the event of sudden cardiac arrest where time is critical. Although rare, Commotio Cordis, a syndrome that results from a blunt impact to the chest, can lead to cardiac arrest. And young athletes are especially at risk. During the expo, Karen Acompora of the Louis J. Acompora Memorial Foundation stressed the value of easy access to defibrillators at all sporting events. In 2000, her son Louis, 14, suffered sudden cardiac arrest and died when he was struck in the chest during a lacrosse game and was unable to receive a “heart-start” by a defibrillator until 12 minutes after his attack. Acompora presented a video about young athletes whose lives were saved as a result of the New York State law requiring defibrillators in all public schools. The legislation, commonly known as “Louis’ Law,” was due to the efforts of the Louis J. Acompora Memorial Foundation Prior to this event, the Warwick Valley School District had 12 defibrillators. With the money raised at the expo, the district expects to add at least 13 more units. “This was a wonderful opportunity for the medical community to reach out to the Warwick community,“ said Dr. Alex Joanow of Horizon Family Medical Group in Goshen. “The success of the day can be judged in many ways. Obviously, the tally of the (defibrillators) is important, but I think the intangibles are equally as important.” Dr. Joanow also said that several school travel teams would be purchasing defibrillators. The Warwick Little League also will be purchasing the equipment and implementing a program that will include the Town Park baseball field.