Postal Colleagues Irked by Slow Response to Defibrillator Request

By James Eli Shiffer, Star Tribune Minneapolis, MN

Seven months ago, Art Tilson suffered a fatal heart attack and collapsed on the floor of his workplace, the immense mail processing center by the river in downtown Minneapolis.

Since then, Tilson's co-workers have urged the post office to install an automated external defibrillator (AED), an increasingly popular device that jump-starts the heart. They even found a group willing to donate the $2,000 device. They don't know whether it would have saved Tilson's life, but they think it would help protect a workforce filled with heart-attack candidates.

"All I'd like to see is that when the next guy goes down, there's a defibrillator there," said postal worker Bruce Johnson.

Complete Story >> http://www.startribune.com/local/80761887.html?elr=KArks7c3E7_V_kDaycUHc3E7_V_nDaycUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU