Months of fundraising have finally given the Riverhead High School softball team the means to purchase its own automated external defibrillator, also known as an AED.
“It’s incredibly important,” said former RHS softball coach Bob Fox. “If a kid gets hit in the chest with a ball, this thing could save her life.”
The portable device, which cost about $1,800, was funded by donations from parents, former alumnae and community members, primarily through an alumnae game that was held last fall. “There were alumnae who couldn’t make it, so their parents came down and donated money,” said Fox. “We couldn’t have done it without all the donations.”
During a typical cardiac arrest scenario, Fox explained, there is usually a two- to five-minute window in which the victim’s heart can be shocked back into an effective rhythm. “But in sports, if you get hit in the chest with a ball in between heartbeats, you only have about a minute to apply it,” he said.
In 2000, a 14-year-old lacrosse goalie at Northport High School died after he went into cardiac arrest as a result of a lacrosse ball slamming into his chest. Defibrillation was not attempted for more than 12 minutes after he collapsed on the field.
“I would never want to see that happen to the kids,” Fox said.
So from August 2013 to January, Fox and the RHS softball team worked with Riverhead Little League to raise enough money to purchase a defibrillator. An alumnae game was held last October at Stotzky Park. Between the $20 registration fee for alumnae to participate and the various donations from parents and community members, the team had raised enough money by January to purchase the device.
All coaches must be certified every two years in AED, CPR and first aid, Fox explained, so there will always be someone available to administer the defibrillator if it is ever needed.
The AED will be kept in the dugout, and the team plans to bring it with them to away games as well.
“Hopefully, it’ll never be used,” Fox said. “But if it has to be, it’ll be there on site.”
Local business sponsors included:
East End Cardiology
Riverhead Columbiettes
Co. 2 Flanders Fire Department
Jamesport Fire Department
Peconic Pediatrics
Riverhead Police Benevolence Assocation
Planet Fitness
Co. 3 Flanders Fire Department
Riverhead Knights of Columbus
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