Lazydays® Announces Lifesaving Defibrillation Program

August 6, 2003 – (Seffner, FL) – As of July 1st employees, clients and visitors of Lazydays® RV SuperCenter® (“Lazydays”), the nation’s number one recreational vehicle (“RV”) dealer, have a better chance of surviving cardiac arrest because of newly installed automated external defibrillators (AEDs). The AEDs are part of the company’s new public access defibrillation program which trains company volunteers to recognize a cardiac emergency and use the device to shock the heart into a regular rhythm. “We want to be sure we can effectively respond to any medical emergency that happens on our property,” says Deborah Dube, Lazydays’ Human Resources Director.

Each year almost 250,000 people suffer cardiac arrest and only about 5 percent of them survive. Cardiac arrest is a condition in which abnormal heart rhythms called arrhythmias cause the heart’s electrical impulses to suddenly become chaotic. When this happens, the heart stops abruptly, and the victim collapses and quickly loses consciousness. Death usually follows unless a normal heart rhythm is restored within a few minutes. Defibrillation, which means delivering an electric shock to the heart, is the only known treatment to restore the normal rhythm. For every minute defibrillation is delayed, the victim’s chances of survival go down 7-10 percent.

According to a company spokesperson, concern about being able to ensure quick defibrillation caused them to set up a defibrillation program with AEDs. “We have a large employee population in a complex facility that is difficult for the EMS system to reach quickly, so we worked with the American Heart Association to set up our program,” said Deborah Dube.

AEDs now on the market are safe and easy to use, making it possible for non-medical personnel to be trained to provide rapid defibrillation. More and more companies are taking this step since legislation providing limited liability for non-medical AED users was passed in the state recently. The American Heart Association recommends that any facility in which large groups of people congregate consider establishing a defibrillation program. This is especially true in high-security companies, high-rise buildings, gated communities, sprawling manufacturing plants and remote sites. It is estimated that establishing these defibrillation programs could help save as many as 50,000 lives per year.

Lazydays® was founded in 1976 in Tampa, Florida. The company is employee-owned and is located on 150 acres with an 83,000 sq. ft. main building, 273 service bays, 300 RV campsites and over 1,200 RV’s on display. Lazydays’ expansive complex requires a fleet of 150 golf carts to move both customers and employees throughout the property. Additionally, the dealership serves over 430,000 meals annually to its customers, prospects and employees. The site has a 40,000 sq. ft. Camping World store, a Cracker Barrel Restaurant and a Flying J RV Travel Plaza.

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For More Information:

Deborah Dube, Human Resources Director
Lazydays® RV Center
813.246.4999 ext. 4387
ddube@lazydays.com