NSW selects ZOLL AED Plus devices for Rural Fire Service stations

Mar 10 2011

ZOLL^® Medical Corporation (Nasdaq GS: ZOLL), a manufacturer of medical devices and related software solutions, announced today that it has received an award from the Government of NSW Australia to provide 5450 AED Plus^® devices for installation on all Rural Fire Service stations deployed throughout the State of New South Wales (NSW). The installation of the ZOLL AED Plus devices is part of a major public health policy initiative to make AEDs more accessible to the citizens of NSW when cardiac arrest occurs. ZOLL expects to receive benefit from this order over the course of 2011.

Survival from out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in Australia remains poor, with approximately less than 10 percent of victims leaving the hospital alive; approximately 20,000 Australians die from SCA every year. The Australian Resuscitation Council has advocated the wider deployment of AEDs since rapid defibrillation and CPR quality significantly impact potential survival from SCA. The initiative was announced yesterday by the NSW Premier Kristina Keneally.

The Rural Fire Service of NSW maintains fire protection and emergency services throughout the state through an organization of volunteers and professional members in brigades throughout the State. As part of the deployment, these employees will receive training in the use of the AED Plus for emergency defibrillation as well as use of its unique Real CPR Help^® capabilities to administer high-quality CPR.

Jonathan A. Rennert, President of ZOLL said, "We are extremely pleased to have been successful in this award. It is the largest award we have ever received for the AED Plus. The unique aspects of the AED Plus that make it able to both provide a lifesaving defibrillator shock, as well as help rescuers perform quality CPR due to its real-time feedback capabilities, played an important role in the selection of our product."

"The latest Australian Resuscitation Council Guidelines, American Heart Association, and European Resuscitation Council Guidelines all emphasize CPR quality and its importance to survival. This is an area in which ZOLL has superior technology; we have offered the only AEDs in the market with this feature since the AED Plus' initial introduction in 2002," he added. "We are pleased to see increasing understanding of the advantages of ZOLL products with Real CPR Help. Our AED Plus also provides a unique rugged design and is built to last in the rough, wet, and dusty environments that the Rural Fire Service operates in."

Source: ZOLL Medical Corporation