Councilman David G. Greenfield is giving free defibrillators to four local Brooklyn organizations: the Boro Park Y, the Sephardic Community Center, Bais Yakov Day Care Center, and the St. Athanasius Youth Program.

Each Automatic External Defibrillator comes with a storage cabinet and CPR training for four members of each organization, all paid for via New York City Council’s Beating Hearts Initiative.

“This is something that we’re doing that is literally saving people’s lives,” Greenfield said. “Ambulance response time in our community is great, especially thanks to Hatzolah, but any wait time can be too long. Every day, people’s lives depend on these machines while the professionals are still on their way.”

Greenfield noted that the program’s free CPR training might be just as important as the free defibrillators.

“The machines can only help someone who falls ill at these community centers, but individuals with CPR training can save a life, no matter where they are,” Greenfield said.

“Let’s say a staffer at the Boro Bark Y is on his lunch break, sees a man having a heart attack, and uses this CPR training to save him. It’s not just the Boro Park Y that benefits from this program but everyone around them. It ripples throughout the community,” Greenfield said.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)