
On Tuesday, 30 November 2004, Stadtwerke Gießen AG (SWG) had an automated external defibrillator (AED) installed in the infoZentrum on the market square. District Administrator Willi Marx took the opportunity to thank the Giessen-based energy and water supplier for its support of the Heart Rescue Campaign. Special thanks went to the employees of the infoCentre, who took part in a training course on the correct use of the AED. The aim of Stadtwerke is to equip the region with defibrillators across the board in collaboration with the district administration, the emergency services and the fire brigade. This device can be used to interrupt the life-threatening ventricular fibrillation of the heart, which occurs in 90 per cent of all people who suffer sudden cardiovascular arrest. After the defibrillators in the Ringallee bathing centre and in the head office in Lahnstraße, this is the third device to be installed at the municipal utilities. The first training sessions for employees of the district administration have already taken place at the municipal utilities in recent weeks. In order to ensure that the life-saving device is used correctly in an emergency at the infoZentrum, Martin Caspari, an emergency doctor from the Herz-Retter-Aktion, trained three infoZentrum employees for emergencies. Sabine Noll, Annette Wagner (member of the private customer sales team) and Uwe Seng (member of the commercial transport team) learnt that the defibrillator is easy to use. Simply switch it on, attach two electrodes to the patient and follow the instructions given by the device. Nobody needs to worry about doing something wrong. This is because the electric shock is only triggered if the AED has actually detected ventricular fibrillation.