April 22, 2022 By Carol Britton Meyer
Hingham native Patrick McGeoghegan is the founder of the MA Youth Sports AED Program, with the mission of providing reliable and equitable access to automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) and sudden cardiac arrest educational services to youth sports teams in the state of Massachusetts.
"We partner with Hingham's Worthwhile Life Foundation and have received expert guidance from the Life Support Program at Boston Children's Hospital," McGeoghegan told the Hingham Anchor.
MYSAP is accepting donations to help pay for the AEDs and is working with the Special Needs Athletic Partnership to equip their program with defibrillators and to train their staff. "Mission Hill Little League has also expressed an interest, and I hope to work on equipping/training them after SNAP," he said.
AEDs are lightweight, portable devices that deliver an electric shock through the chest to the heart to correct arrhythmias that cause cardiac arrest.
Children who participate in youth sports "are at high risk for sudden cardiac arrest related to undetected cardiac anomalies or abrupt impact to the chest (known as commotio cordis)," according to the MYSAP website.
Furthermore, researchers have learned that a large portion of kids with congenital heart disease also have neurodevelopmental delays (either as a result of gene mutations or abnormal/poor blood flow from their heart issues), according to McGeoghegan. "Congenital heart defects are very common in kids with Down Syndrome, which is associated with a higher incidence of cardiac arrest compared to kids without Down Syndrome."
Because some of the young people who participate in the SNAP program "are in a higher risk group for sudden cardiac arrest, I thought working with the SNAP program would be a great place to begin," said McGeoghegan, who during high school was a SNAP counselor/mentor. "I loved [working with] the kids," he said.
According to statistics, nine out of 10 cardiac arrest victims who receive a shock from an AED in the first minute live.
Although formal training in the use of an AED is not required, it is recommended to help the rescuer increase his or her comfort level and confidence.
SNAP plans to have all of its mentors, directors, and team leaders trained prior to the start of the SNAP summer program at South Shore Country Club. "Adding this to our capabilities will provide added safety for all who participate in our program as well as giving our leaders a lifelong lesson in dealing with sudden cardiac arrest," South Shore SNAP President and Hingham resident Warren Pelissier told the Hingham Anchor.
"Patrick is providing a great pathway to improving access to life-saving technologies," he said. "We at SNAP are grateful for the partnerships we have forged over the past eight years, and this new partnership proves to be another important step in our growth and commitment to our participants."
For further information or to make a donation, visit www.mysapaed.com. MYSAP also has an account at Hingham Savings Bank for those who wish to make a contribution by check, made out to "MA Youth Sports AED Program."
All donations will go toward the purchase of high-quality AEDs and funding for CPR/AED training by certified providers.
"Our long-term goal is to make the state of Massachusetts a model for youth sports sudden cardiac arrest preparedness in the United States," McGeoghegan said.