Winslow receives defibrillator donation from Seattle firm

WARWICK - A health care company based in Seattle, Wash., recently donated an defibrillator to Winslow Therapeutic Center in Warwick. Philips Medical Systems is a global leader in diagnostic imaging systems and patient monitoring and cardiac devices. The defibrillator automatically sends a current to the heart muscle and, in the event of heart failure, that jolt can reset the heart back into a normal rhythm, possibly saving a life, according to information from the company. The donation was the result of a grant application submitted by Virginia Mazza, past executive director of Winslow Therapeutic Center. One of Winslow’s instructors already has been trained in the use of the device. And officers from Warwick’s Mid-Orange Correctional Facility have offered to train Winslow’s staff. “Having a defibrillator always on hand at Winslow may one day be the meaning between life and death,” said Kathy McGillivray of Philips Medical Systems. Winslow, a not-for-profit hippotherapy and therapeutic riding center, serves the special needs population of Orange and surrounding counties. The organization, now located on 100 acres of scenic land just off Route 17A between Bellvale and Mount Peter, has been offering unique horseback riding experiences to children and adults in this community since 1974.