Inwood Hill Park

The Daily Plant : Wednesday, August 15, 2001

PARKS PLACES AUTOMATIC EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATOR AT ASSER LEVY RECREATION CENTER

A recently passed law enables employers to keep in the workplace a device that can save heart attack patients. It's called an automatic external defibrillator and Parks and the Department of Transportation are about to be the first City agencies to implement the use of it in all five boroughs.

When an individual suffers from cardiac arrest, there is a four-minute window in which to reach them before brain damage is incurred. The idea behind the defibrillator is to place it in a community location where staff are trained in its use, rather than wait the crucial minutes for EMTs to battle New York City gridlock.

In his State of the City address, Mayor Rudolph (Eagle) Giuliani announced that New York City would begin to equip its public spaces with defibrillators. On Monday, August 13, 2001 the first defibrillator was placed at Asser Levy Recreation Center. That day, Commissioner Henry J. (StarQuest) Stern joined Mayor Giuliani and an array of Commissioners outside the center to let the press know about the initiative.

Our recreation centers are as well equipped as we can make them. Of course we hope visitors will have more use for swimming pools and fitness machines than automatic external defibrillators, but it should nonetheless relieve New Yorkers to know that our centers are stocked and our staffers trained in the use of a simple emergency device that could save their lives.

On Monday, July 16, the first training session was held. In that four-hour session, twelve Parkies learned to use the defibrillators and perform CPR. Trainings have been held every Monday since. And for every site where a defibrillator is assigned, six staff members are trained in the use of it.

Defibrillators are being placed first in recreation centers, pools, and golf courses because exercise facilities are among the public spaces where cardiac arrest is most common. We are now creating emergency response guidelines tailored to every site, and signs to alert the public that their center is equipped with this emergency resource. After piloting the use of defibrillators in 35 centers, five Olympic size pools, and eight of our golf courses, we plan to expand the program to other Parks facilities.

If you or someone you know suffers from a heart attack, contact the first staff member you see, and inform them. They will remain with you and send a co-worker to contact both the on-site emergency team and EMS.

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO IN THE PLANT
(Wednesday, August 17, 2001)

NRG TRAINS PARKIES NATURALLY

Although Parks' motto is "greenery is good." Parks field managers are discovering that some flora in our parks are foul. The Norway Maple, the Japanese Honeysuckle and the Porcelainberry vines are examples of vegetation that choke other native plants in the natural areas of our parks, as 25 managers and supervisors learned at a workshop sponsored by the Natural Resources Group (NRG) last week at Inwood Hill Park in upper Manhattan.

"In some habitats, aggressive vines, weeds, shrubs and trees invade and adversely affect natural communities of plants and animals," said Director of NRG Marc Matsil. "We teach field managers how to identify and eradicate these plants when necessary through hands-on experience."

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"Awake!
My whirling hands stay at the noon,
Each cell within my body holds a heart
And all my hearts in unison strike twelve."

Stanley Kunitz (b. 1905)

Know Before You Go

Muscota Marsh