November 3, 2000
The Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority Offers Lifesaving Equipment

Contact:
Susan Kittle
Lehigh Valley International Airport
1-800-FLY-LVIA

Lehigh Valley, Pa. - The Lehigh Valley International Airport operated by the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority has installed two Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in the ticketing and departure areas of the airport. The units are in glass cabinets mounted on the wall accessible to the public and are complete with defibrillators and oxygen tanks.

AED units are portable devices, which send an electrical shock capable of jolting a heart that is not functioning properly back into regular rhythm. If used in time, AEDs can prevent death resulting from sudden cardiac arrest, one of the leading causes of death in the United States.

The costs of the AED units were covered under the Pool Trust AED Grant project from the Dorothy Rider Pool Health Care Trust. "We are pleased to be able to provide this new technology," said George F. Doughty, Executive Director of the Lehigh Northampton Airport Authority. He went on to say, "Our highly-trained emergency response team has had a unit on board for some time now. Even though our emergency personnel are just minutes away, the additional units can be used by any medically trained people in the immediate area that could assist someone in distress before our emergency crew arrives."

Lehigh Valley International Airport is located near Allentown, Pennsylvania and serves a twelve county area with a population of 2.3 million people. The Airport is easily accessible from communities in Northern New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania.