Approximately 325,000 Americans suffer sudden cardiac arrest each year and more than 95 percent of them die before reaching the hospital. If CPR and defibrillation are not applied within 10 minutes after sudden cardiac arrest, there is virtually no chance of survival.   However, when defibrillation is provided within five to seven minutes, the survival rate from sudden cardiac arrest is as high as 49 percent.

This week (June 2-June is the first annual National CPR/AED week.  It was designed last fall to help educate Americans about the necessity of CPR and AED training and use to reduce death and disability from sudden cardiac arrest.  AEDs can be found on most golf courses, health clubs, schools and other public places.  The apparatus has written directions on it to help in case of an emergency, but training in CPR and AED is very important.

The OSF Saint Francis Medical Center’s Wellness Program offers training and classes in CPR and AED use. 

If you would like one of our trained professionals to demonstrate how to do CPR or how to use an AED on one of your news programs or for a print or electronic interview, please contact:   Amy PaulExecutive Director, Strategic Communications OSF Saint Francis Medical
Center655-2777 or229-7175

On Saturday June 21 come out to Bradley Park and walk with your dog to help raise additional funds for the dog park and to familiarize yourself with lovely walking areas right near the site of the dog park. For registrations received prior to the walk, the fee is $15.00 per person/dog. For registrations received the day of the walk, the fee will be $20.00. Registration fee includes one T-shirt and a dog goodie bag. (Note: WE CANNOT GUARANTEE YOUR SHIRT SIZE IF REGISTRATION IS RECEIVED AFTER 6/12.)   

  Check-in will begin at 8am with a warm-up at 8:30. The walk will start at 9 am. We hope to see you at the park on June 21 and thank you for your continued support of the dog park! The fencing for the dog park went out for bid this week. Things are moving along! You can contact Cheryl Budzinski at 681-9655.

Support the Memory Walk in your area 

Memory Top Walkers are the participants in the Memory Walks who go above and beyond themselves to raise money for our Walks. The Alzheimer’s Association Central Illinois Chapter would like to show their appreciation for our top walkers by sharing a few of their stories.  

Betty McKelvey, 78, was one of the top Walkers of 2007. This was not Betty’s first walk, however. She has walked in the last three Memory Walks in Tazewell County. Betty walks for her husband who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2003. She first suspected that something was wrong as he began to forget little things. After his diagnosis the two became involved with the Alzheimer’s Association to learn how to cope with what the future held for them.  “Not only did we know what was coming,” Betty says, “but the people there cared about us and wanted to help as much as possible.” 

As her husband’s caregiver, Betty shared many new memories with her husband, some good, some bad. She remembers a time that he wandered off shortly after his diagnosis and ended up seven miles away. Although she was scared at the time she now remembers her years as a caregiver with humor. 

“It was a bad situation but at the same time it was sort of funny,” Betty reminisces, “After he wandered off that day the police kept a picture of him up at the station like he was a wanted man. My daughter used to joke that that was the last place she would ever see her father wind up at.” 

Betty’s husband died last May before the ’07 Memory Walks. Even with her husband’s death, she continued to raise nearly $500 for the cause.  

“The Memory Walks are very worthwhile and necessary for finances for the Alzheimer’s Association,” Betty says, “It’s just a very good thing.” 

The Alzheimer’s Association is proud to have support from Betty and all of our dedicated walkers with our Memory Walks. We congratulate Betty for being a Top Walker and are thankful for all of her hard work.  

Please consider being a part of our Memory Walks this year to help people like Betty’s husband find hope and help.  

To register for the Memory Walk please call (309) 681-1100 (local office) or visit online at www.alz.org/illinoiscentral, and follow the Memory Walk link.

Firefighters Local 50 is hosting the Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois the week of June 9^th and Kelleher’s Irish Pub and Eatery, Brewer’s Distributing and Hook & Ladder Brewing Company invite the public to join them as they team up to show their support for this very special group.

Kelleher’s will donate 50-cents for every Hook & Ladder beer sold Monday, June 9 through Saturday, June 14th with proceeds going to our local burn unit here in central Illinois.

Kelleher’s is also hosting a special Hook & Ladder event to benefit our local firefighters on Wednesday, June 11. Brewer’s Distributing will make a special delivery of Hook & Ladder to Kelleher’s at 6 pm on Wednesday, via Bud Jacobs’ own “antique” fire truck.

 Hook & Ladder’s founder, Rich Fleischer, representatives from Hook & Ladder Brewing and Brewer’s Distributing as well as members of the Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois will be in attendance. 

Hook & Ladder Brewing Company, located in Silver Spring,Maryland was founded in 1999 by Rich Fleischer, a firefighter from Bethesda, Maryland. As a way to pay tribute to the brave men and women who serve and protect our communities, Hook & Ladder Brewing supports firefighters by donating to improve treatment for burn victims. Donations are raised through the sale of Hook & Ladder beer with all proceeds being donated to benefit local burn treatment in the communities where the beer is sold. In addition, Hook & Ladder encourages all its distributing partner’s to match it’s donation. Locally, Brewer’s Distributing is a matching partner.

Hook & Ladder’s Golden Ale is a Great American Beer Festival Gold medal winner and their Backdraft Brown received first place honors in The Washington Post’s prestigious Beer Madness. Hook & Ladder LIGHTER gives light beer drinkers a great tasting ale with only 94 calories!

A CELEBRATION OF ACHIEVEMENTS 

The Community and Prospective T.S.T.M. members are invited to attend the Thirty-first Annual Celebration of Achievements Awards Banquet sponsored by the Tri-County (Peoria) Urban League’s Tomorrow’s Scientists, Technicians, and Managers (T.S.T.M.) Program.  This event will take place on Friday, June 27, 2008, 6:00 p.m.  In celebration of the T.S.T.M. 31st Anniversary, the banquet will take place at the BRADLEY UNIVERSITY STUDENT CENTER, 827 N. Elmwood, Peoria, Illinois. 

The keynote speaker will be the Dr. John Johnson (President/CEO of the Schott Foundation for Public Education in Cambridge, MS).  T.S.T.M. Alumni speakers will be Dr. Lashondra Williams and Mr. Christopher Duncan.  Tickets are now $20 ($25 after June 20th, 2008) and are available for purchase at the Tri-County (Peoria) Urban League.  For more information, please contact Virgil Marshall at (309) 672-4353 or Alneida Ford at (309) 672-4351.