Travis County Commissioners Court
February 10, 2009, 2009
Item 2
Number two approve proclamation recognizing February 14, 2009 as "take heart Austin day" in Travis County.
Commissioner Eckhardt?
>> mr.
hobby, would you like to have the proclamation read first before your comments or after.
>> why don't we go ahead and read the proclamation first?
>> okay.
whereas take heart, Austin, is the 7th annual celebration for cardiac arrest survivor, their families and their rescuers and whereas victims of cardiac arrest in our area are blessed to have access to life saving care, 24/7 thanks to the dedicated members of the Austin Travis County emergency medical service system and whereas we are pleased to recognize the Austin/Travis County e.m.s.
system, including the 14 Travis County emergency services districts for their efforts to improve survival and recovery of cardiac arrests through professional and public education.
now therefore be is resolved that we, the Travis County Commissioners court, do hereby recognize February 14th, 2009 as take heart Austin day in the Austin Travis County community.
my father is a survivor of sudden cardiac arrest due to the auspices of great people like y'all, it was in houston, but nevertheless there are so many people that owe their lives to y'all.
the incident of sudden cardiac arrest are on the rise.
and our technology and dealing with it is also on the rise thanks to you.
>> second the motion.
>> thank you.
>> thank you, very much, I'm debbie hobby, the emergency services executive manager.
of course one of my privileges is to work with professionals such as our -- on my left and my right.
and you will sigh that there's a whole team of folks that come together for the benefit of our residents.
their goal is to try to assist our residents when they have a need.
in this particular case you are talking about cardiac arrest.
so we're going to celebrate this Saturday, which happens to be valentine's day, we are going to celebrate take heart Austin day.
i think we're going to have around 64 survivors this past year and some of which will be there.
if you have ever attended this ceremony, I call it a celebration of life, then it's something that you walk in, you walk out you're a different person than when you walked in because you hear the testimonies of those individuals that -- that embrace life and survive this particular situation, but also they are there to come together again with those people who were there during their moment of need and how they contributed to that survival.
so it's just a very touching, very emotional, but it also makes you feel proud not only for the residents that survived but also for the people who helped them survive.
i'm going to pass this along now to the program manager of take heart Austin, lewis gonzalez.
he's with the Austin medical director and he's got some details that I think are important for the public to know about this very, very special day.
>> thank you danny, judge Biscoe, Commissioners.
every year, hundreds of Travis County and city of Austin residents experience sudden cardiac death.
for each of these victims their chance of regaining life depends on key community actions that must occur quickly.
for the past seven years, Travis County and the city of Austin have celebrated the community's efforts to successfully save the lives of dozens of victims of sudden cardiac arrest.
this year we are proud to say that our community successfully saved the lives of 64 victims of sudden cardiac arrest.
this event, which is now known as take heart Austin survivor celebration, invites survivors to share their experiences, meet those who rescued them and the caregivers who continue their care in our local hospitals to celebrate their amazing outcomes.
as a result of this event, community members and members of our 911 communication groups, 14 esc's, e.m.s.
paramedics, rescutations in our hospitals our -- we invite each you to attend this special event if your schedules allow, we would be honored to have you join us, thank you.
>> where will the event be now?
>> cues me.
excuse me?
>> where.
>> big tex auditorium at the j.j.
pickle research center, 9:00 Saturday.
>> okay.
any other comments?
>> I think that's going to be it.
>> thank you.
>> thank you for all that you do, mr.
pena.
>> yes, sir.
let me have that microphone, please, thank you.
judge, Commissioners, gus pena, August the 30th of last year we were nearly killed in an automobile accident.
i want to thank the first responders because y'all don't know it, but I was about to go into cardiac arrest and all that I heard was the officer say he's going under, he's going under, so they brought up the defibrillator, they brought me back into life.
but I want to thank all of the first responders over there, e.m.s.
technicians, officer who responded to the collision and just I'm here for the grace of god and the grace of the first responders and I am testimony that -- that immediate response, immediate treatment does help and the lord first, but, you know, I want to thank you all very much for the hard work that you do.
remember, getting to the defibrillator if you conclusion but have the faith in the lord jesus christ, I'm here, otherwise you wouldn't see any ugly face here anymore, but otherwise we're here.
>> thank you very much.
>> I do need to make one note.
i will be there Saturday to read the proclamation representing Travis County and so it will be an honor to do that.
we thank you for approving this proclamation.
>> are you suggesting that you couldn't get one of us to attend Saturday, mr.
hobby?
>> no, sir, I was not.
>> [laughter]
>> just in case.
>> we better hurry up and approve this proclamation y'all.
all in favor?
that passes by unanimous vote.
thank you all very much for all of you do.
add one more to that 67.
>> [ applause ]
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Last Modified:
Tuesday, February 10, 2009 2:00 PM