A local church that’s provided meeting space for the Ohio Wing’s Lt. Col. Jerome P. Ashman Composite Squadron for nearly a decade now has a new automated external defibrillator to use in health emergencies, thanks to the Civil Air Patrol members/
The squadron donated the AED — a portable, electronic device used to treat sudden cardiac arrest by analyzing the heart’s rhythm and, if necessary, delivering an electric shock to restore normal rhythm — to the Maineville Lighthouse Church during a Sunday service April 13.
Squadron members have been meeting at the church since September 2016, when the unit was chartered.
The squadron’s commander, Capt. Richard L. Farina, Jr., made the presentation to Eric Minamayer, church pastor, and Larry Smith, advocate council president of the church. Minamayer, formerly a captain in the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps, is an advocate for CAP’s cadet program.
After reaching out to the American Red Cross for guidance on selecting an AED, the squadron chose a portable, bilingual model that uses one set of pads for both infant and adult — the lightest and smallest Food and Drug Administration-approved AED available.
With most of its congregation 65 and older, the church was looking into obtaining an AED should medical emergencies occur._____Capt. Angelika FarinaAssistant Public Affairs OfficerOhio Wing
