American Heart Association honors Gov. Quinn and local Heart Heroes

(Collinsville, IL, Feb. 6, 2008)

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, Collinsville High School Athletic Director Matt Badgley, Collinsville High School Athletic Trainer Amanda Baugher and Collinsville Fire Chief Peter Stehman may not possess supernatural skills, wear capes or drive super-vehicles, but they have earned the title of American Heart Hero by taking a few critical steps that helped save the life of Gary L. Gustafson, a referee who collapsed last month during the championship Collinsville-Schnucks Holiday Classic basketball game at Collinsville High School.

Some quick-thinking bystanders from the stands--Lincoln residents Ann Olson, Debbie Ramlow, Scott Ritchhart and Karen Hobler--began cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and 911 was called. Soon after, Baugher, Badgley and Stehman arrived with the automated external defibrillator (AED), and used it to administer a shock that restarted Gustafson’s heart. The AED was available thanks to an Illinois state law called the Colleen O’Sullivan Act, requiring the equipment to be on-site at all times in all schools and public athletic facilities. O'Sullivan, a staff attorney for the Illinois House of Representatives, died of heart complications in 2002 after exercising at a health club.

Gov. Quinn was a driving force behind that landmark legislation, and also helped create the Heartsaver AED Fund, which helps provide matching grants to schools, park district facilities and fitness facilities.

“It was a team effort,” said JR Dietl, president and director of training at Contemporary Life Saving Training in O’Fallon and a member of the American Heart Association’s Illinois Advocacy Committee. “The whole reason Gary Gustafson is alive today is that the bystanders acted quickly, the school implemented the program, people were trained, and the AED was easily accessible. Everything that should have happened did.”

The American Heart Association is proud to honor Quinn today with the Heart Champion Award for his pioneering efforts to strengthen the emergency medical chain of survival by promoting life-saving AED technology throughout Illinois.

The association is also honored to present its American Heart Hero Award to Baugher, Badgley and Stehman today for their fast response and heroic effort to save a life by using an AED in an emergency. Olson, Ramlow, Ritchhart and Hobler will be recognized for their roles in the save at a separate event in Lincoln.

Collinsville AED Program Manager Lisa Brown-Sabatino also received an award Friday, for helping to get the equipment placed in the district’s schools.

"By making AEDs available, people who use a few simple skills achieve something extraordinary — they save lives,” Dietl said. “Today, these Heartsavers are the heroes, but all Metro East residents can easily become tomorrow’s heroes by knowing to call 911 and being ready to perform CPR or use an AED.”

In Missouri, the American Heart Association is looking at a current statute to improve access to Automated External Defibrillators there, so that more lives can be saved. The American Heart Association is also challenging all Metro East residents to learn how to perform CPR on someone who suddenly collapses and stops breathing normally, and encouraging businesses, public sites and other entities to consider implementing programs making automated external defibrillators and trained rescuers available to administer a potentially lifesaving electric shock to the heart.

CollinsvilleSchool District is off to a great start, according to Dietl. The school trained 1,000 students in CPR over the last year. They have also trained more than 380 staff members and 38 coaches, he said.

The American Heart Association provides a full range of training and information to help people learn to perform effective CPR. Family & Friends CPR Anytime is a training program that can be used at home by multiple family members. Infant CPR Anytime is a similar self- directed program with instruction on performing CPR on an infant (12 months or younger). For additional information, visit americanheart.org/cpr, shopcpranytime.org or call 1-877-AHA-4CPR.