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Published on December 20, 1999, Page B03, Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA)
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AREA SHOPPING CENTERS ADD LIFESAVING DEVICES THE SEVEN KRAVCO CO. MALLS
HAVE EMPLOYEES TRAINED TO PROVIDE OXYGEN OR RESPOND TO CARDIAC ARREST.
Source: Stephanie Doster, INQUIRER SUBURBAN STAFF

Seven area malls are taking on a new customer-service challenge, beginning this holiday season: saving lives. Kravco Co., which manages the malls, has equipped each of its shopping centers with oxygen and a portable, lightweight device designed to combat sudden cardiac arrest.

"If a customer is in medical need, we wanted to make sure we could respond quickly," said Kravco spokeswoman Leigh Ann Barnes.

Other malls have installed the devices, called Automated External Defibrillator (AED). But officials of the American Heart Association and Medtronic Physio-Control, a company based in Redmond, Wash., that makes the machines, said they believed Kravco was the first major mall chain to launch the program on such a large scale.

Since the units were installed about three weeks ago (Dec. 20, 1999), security staff has used the oxygen to treat two asthma attacks at the Oxford Valley and King og Prussia malls, and a cardiac arrest and a stroke at the Deptford Mall.

Other local Kravco malls include the Montgomeryville and Lehigh Valley Malls in Pennsylvania and Hamilton and Quaker Bridge Malls in New Jersey.

The company also manages three malls in Indiana, Maine and New York, all of which also have been equipped with the oxygen and defibrillator. About 50 million people visit Kravco malls anually, Barnes said. The small oxygen tank and defibrillator are housed by the malls' customer-service centers in a small cabinet.

Whenever the cabinet is opened, an alarm sounds, notifying security to call 911. Trained users monitor vital signs and administer oxygen or begin defibrillation until a squad arrives. Each mall has one unit, except for the King of Prussia Mall, which has three units. Previously, mall employees were trained in CPR and first aid, but sometimes that is not enough.

"CPR buys time. AEDs treat the problem," said Mary Fran Hazinski, senior science editor for the emergency cardiovascular program at the American Heart Association. "If the AED and trained rescuers are in the mall, they have already beat the EMS service by serveral minutes...This will definitely save lives if it's part of a well-designed program. I think it's a wonderful idea."

Hazinski said malls were the next logical place for the devices, which already have been embraced by police departments, airports, airlines, high-rise buildings and sports arenas.

The hand-held machine costs about $3000*, has voice prompts that guide the user. It measures heart rhythms and will not allow a user to shock a victim who is not having the kind of arrest caused by abnormal rhythm.

According to American Heart Association statistics, only about one of 20 people survives a cardiac arrest that occurs outside a hospital.

* NOTE: The TXO2® AUTOMATED First Aid Oxygen unit sells for $500.00.

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