Matt Keene '08 receives American Heart Association Heart Saver Award
Matt has become an advocate for the American Heart Association and will be
participating in a NH Public Television special airing on February 25th
at 9AM and February 27tth at 7:30PM, as well as having spoken at the Heart
Ball and to the media at the Heart Ball. "If I can save just one life, it will be
worth it,"
Manchester, NH – The American Heart Association has announced that it presented the prestigious Heart Saver Award to Matt Keene of Berlin recently at the 11th Annual NH Heart Ball on February 10, 2007 in Manchester, NH.
On October 18, 2006 as a routine football practice was just ending, Matt Keene Class of 2008 at Kimball Union Academy in Plainfield NH, collapsed on the field after suffering sudden cardiac arrest (SCA.)
Matt was saved because of the quick response of those on the field and because Kimball Union Academy had an AED (Automated External Defibrillator) available at the school. Critical to his survival was the successful implementation of what is known as "the chain of survival" -- an immediate call to 911, early CPR, early defibrillation and immediate transport to an advanced care facility, in Matt's case, nearby Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.
Matt returned to school after receiving an implanted defibrillator. Because of the risk of impacting his implanted defibrillator he will not be able to compete in contact sports. He can still lead an active life.
Matt has turned his near tragedy into a positive. He has made it his mission to become an advocate for defibrillators in his community. He has already solicited 14 AED’s for his local community.
He currently is working with the legislature to introduce a bill to create an automated external defibrillator trust fund to provide money for NH school districts to purchase AED’s and train at least one school employee.
Matt has become an advocate for the American Heart Association by participating in a NH Public Television special airing on February 25th at 9AM and February 27th at 7:30PM, as well as speaking at the Heart Ball and to the media at the Heart Ball. "If I can save just one life, it will be worth it," Keene says.
Matt also has appeared on WMUR Channel 9 in Manchester, WCAX in Burlington, and had a feature article in the Valley News in Lebanon, NH. An AP feature article by David Tirrell-Wysocki appeared in newspapers around the country, and his story was included in a recent article on the national movement to get AEDs in schools that appeared in USA TODAY on November 29, 2006.
The Heart Saver Award was presented to Matt by Jon Wahrenberger MD, Cardiologist at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and President of the American Heart Association’s Northeast Affiliate Board of Directors.
For more information about heart disease and stroke, call (800) AHA-USA1 or visit our Web site at www.americanheart.org.
Photo: L-R Julia Moore '09, Matt Keene '08 and faculty members Sandy Ouellette, Marianne McGraw and David Weidman.
