LifeServers is a distributor for the AED manufactured by Medtronic Physio-Control. The Redmond, Wash.-based company claims its external defibrillators are used by 80 percent of all U.S. hospitals and emergency squads. Given all that, one might expect LifeServers' principals to be jumping for joy. But they're not quite that ecstatic yet, Zanon said. When we start, oh my goodness, it can be tough.
People say they have no idea what an AED is.
The whole process has to be an educational one. Emphasizing AEDs are designed so they won't deliver a shock unless the person is in cardiac arrest. Explaining that for each minute that cardiac arrest persists, the likelihood of a successful resuscitation decreases by approximately 10 percent. Because of all these efforts, LifeServers already is turning a profit, Zanon said, and plans to expand its sales force and staff another 20 percent by this summer. The more facts and figures they can quote, the better.