KISSIMMEE, Fla., December 19, 4:00 pm – Following a national healthcare trend,
Kissimmee Utility Authority (KUA) has installed portable defibrillators for public use at
all of its facilities in Osceola County. The defibrillator is a lifesaving device for
individuals suffering from cardiac arrest or other medical emergencies.
Each year, 12,800 Floridians suffer sudden cardiac arrest, either from heart disease or from
trauma such as drowning or electrical shock, according to the American Heart Association.
Without the use of an automated external defibrillator, more than 95 percent of those
victims will die before reaching a hospital.
Automated external defibrillators are portable, computerized devices that deliver shocks to
restore normal heartbeats in people suffering sudden cardiac arrest. Laypeople can safely
use the devices with minimal training, largely because the defibrillators will not deliver a
shock to a person who does not need one. Good Samaritan laws in Florida provide immunity and
limit legal risks to nonmedical people who use the devices in good faith. Although special
training is not necessary, nearly 50 percent of KUA employees have attended classes on the
correct use of the devices.
Roughly the size of a lunch box, the five defibrillators were purchased by KUA at a cost of
$2,400 each. KUA has installed the units at its customer service center, an electric
substation, vehicle service center/warehouse facility and both power plants. KUA’s customer
service center alone receives more than 16,000 walk-in customers each month.
Founded in 1901, KUA is Florida’s sixth largest community-owned utility serving 61,000
electric, water and Internet customers in five Central Florida counties.
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Contact: Chris Gent, Manager of Corporate Communications
(407) 933-7777 ext. 1116
cgent@kua.com
