If you are thinking about an AED or (I saw some posts from last year),
oxygen for your church I might be able to help. Most AEDs are still
in the 1100-2200 dollar range but there are a couple models that are
under 1000 now if you look around.

There are also some being sold "reconditioned" that you need to stay
away from, i.e. one brand has been globaly recalled and the company
is no longer in business -- yet some of them are still being sold on eBay.

You should also make sure what you buy is already 2005 CPR Standard
compliant or can be reprogramed in the field. A couple of the AED
makers are making you buy new units or have your old units "updated"
at a unreasonably high cost. If you already have an AED that you
bought before March of this year it will need to be reprogramed, but
there is not a huge time urgency on that. Many will not be doing it
for nearly a year.

I would be happy to provide guidance on what is good and what is not
so good for any of the brands. After 30 years as a paramedic I have
a couple preferences, but I am objective enough to know what I prefer
is not the best for all applications and I promise I will look at YOUR
needs to guide you.

As for the oxygen question, someone said it is a perscription item,
and that is generally true, but most states allow for "emergency
oxygen" provision as a first aid measure. The primary difference is
the non perscrition comes with a regulator that does not have the
settings a regular oxygen regulator allows.

The Heart Association, Red Cross, and Medic First Aid ( among others)
offer add on modules to your CPR classes to teach you what you need to
know.




--- In ParishNurse@yahoogroups.com, Norma Underwood <casiday2000@...>
wrote:
>
> Our Health Ministry is in our church budget for $850 for the year.
Any designated donations go into a special fund. We have received
some donations this past year that went into the special fund. Our
health ministry committee discussed it and decided this year that the
special designated funds would be used to purchase an AED first and
then we will use it for special purchases for the items used within
the health ministry. We have other areas that are budgeted that will
meet needs such as purchasing medications, food, etc. I am a
volunteer parish nurse. The budget covers some of my continued
education costs. God is so good! Norma U.