By BARBARA GREEN
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The congregation of the Old Country Church in Bowie recently faced with an emergency when one of its members experienced a heart situation. They took that incident and decided to be proactive and purchased an automated external defibrillator that could save a life.
Jim Manning, member of the church’s safety team, said a member was trying to make it outside and was going to drive himself to the hospital.
“We saw him, and he told us his heart and chest hurt, so we got him to the hospital,” said Manning.
A few weeks later during a business meeting, they talked about it and what could do about providing some assistance during that type of event. The idea for an AED was broached and Manning took on the task of researching the costs and usage.
“We have an aging membership and knew something like this could help. I knew nothing about it, so I went to the fire station and talked to Chief Doug Page,” said Manning.
Page suggested it would be a great asset for the church and even though the station is only a few blocks away, the ambulance could be out of town and not able to get there as quickly. The chief assisted Manning in looking at AEDs online, how they work and the costs. At a hefty $1,275 Manning went back to the board.

Read the full story in the weekend News.