Florida Hospital Donates $15,000 to the Rotary Club of Tampa pushing Rotary over Centennial Campaign Goal to Save Lives
(PRWEB) March 10, 2015 -- A donation of $15,000 from the Florida Hospital West Florida Region has pushed the Rotary Club of Tampa over the top in its goal to raise $100,000 to outfit 100 Tampa police cars with lifesaving automated external defibrillators (AEDs) police can use for emergency care when they respond to calls involving heart attacks.
“Florida Hospital is focused on making investments in the health and wellness of our community. Often times, police are the first responders when it comes to emergency calls for cardiac arrest. As the Rotary Club of Tampa celebrates 100 years of volunteer work this year, we are honored to present the Rotary Club of Tampa Foundation with a check in the amount of $15,000 to fund and deploy portable heart defibrillators inside Tampa Police patrol cars. We are proud to help in this joint effort by the Rotary Club and provide this life-saving equipment to our first responders,” said Mike Schultz, President and CEO of the Florida Hospital West Florida Region.
Today, Florida Hospital Tampa President and CEO, Brian Adams, presented the $15,000 donation to the Rotary Club of Tampa at its weekly luncheon meeting in Tampa. The lifesaving project by the Rotary Club of Tampa was launched in April 2014 at the beginning of the Rotary Club’s year-long 100th anniversary celebration, with the goal of raising $100,000 by matching donations, grants and gifts by April of 2015.
“I am absolutely elated to announce that we have gone over our 100th anniversary goal of $100,000 a month early, too!” declared Wayne E. Critcher, President of the Rotary Club of Tampa in 2014, who is spearheading the project to its completion. “The generosity of Florida Hospital, along with Firehouse Subs and numerous companies and individuals, including many Rotarians, proves we are a caring community because these AEDs will soon start to save lives of our fellow citizens.”
Tampa Police data shows that police and fire department emergency personnel respond to almost 9,000 incidents of cardiac/respiratory arrests, chest pains and heart problems annually, so the need for portable defibrillators was obvious, said Jimmy Clark, 2015 club president.
“Police officers are often the first on scene when people are suffering from cardiac arrest, and a matter of moments can mean life or death,” commented Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor. “There’s no doubt that the generous donations to this project from the Tampa area’s leading companies and organizations will save lives here in Tampa. Their dedication to our community shows their commitment to making Tampa safer. In addition, we are sincerely grateful for the joint initiative with the Rotary Club of Tampa on this project.”
After six months of planning and product review, the Rotary Club of Tampa decided to choose the Philips HeartStart FRx, distributed locally by Altra Medical, which is in use by public safety agencies throughout Florida and the nation.
Other major donations, gifts and grants that were matched by the Rotary Club of Tampa’s Foundation to help fund the AED project include:
• $19,500 from Firehouse Subs
• $20,000 from the Arthur L. Stuckey Family Fund #2 within the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay
• $5,000 from Tampa General Hospital
• Initial $25,000 from Rotary to launch the project in 2014
• Remainder from generous individuals, Rotarians and the Rotary Club of Tampa Foundation.
“Florida Hospital appreciates the opportunity to join the Rotary Club of Tampa, as together, we elevate the health of our communities. Caring for people is a matter of the heart, so it is very fitting that we provide our great Tampa police responders with these vital defibrillator units to keep the hearts of Tampa beating,” said Dr. Peter Bath, Florida Hospital Vice President of Mission.
About Florida Hospital West Florida Region
The Florida Hospital West Florida Region is a not-for-profit 1,257-bed hospital system composed of 9 hospitals including Florida Hospital Tampa, Florida Hospital Pepin Heart Institute, Florida Hospital Carrollwood, Florida Hospital at Connerton Long Term Acute Care, Florida Hospital Zephyrhills, Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, Florida Hospital North Pinellas, Florida Hospital Heartland Medical Center Sebring, Florida Hospital Heartland Medical Center Lake Placid and Florida Hospital Wauchula. Part of the Adventist Health System, Florida Hospital is a leading health network comprised of 23 hospitals throughout the state. For more information, visit http://www.FloridaHospital.com.
Jennifer McVan, Director of Media Relations, Florida Hospital West Florida Region, http://www.FHTampa.org, +1 (813) 373-9505, [email protected]
Share this article