Evans-native Erin Delaney never dreamed a Girl Scout award project would pave the road to a life-long career and save a person’s life.
Delaney, a Girl Scout since the second grade, chose providing education and resources to support heart health when deciding on a course to earn the Girl Scout Gold Award. She was 17 years old at the time.
In 2015, she ventured down a road not easily attained by the girls who commit themselves to the Girl Scouts of the United States of America, founded in 1912 by Juliette Gordon Low. The Gold Award is the organization’s highest recognition. Fewer than 6% of the scouts receive the prestigious honor that typically takes up to two years to complete. Since 1916, approximately 1 million girls have received the award or its equivalent, according to Sandy Helling, fund development specialist for the Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia.
“It takes an extreme amount of drive and dedication to earn it,” Helling said.
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To achieve the Gold Award status, Delaney launched her project by providing free blood pressure checks at a local farmer’s market. She disseminated brochures and handouts with information about area clinics and the importance of a healthy lifestyle. She organized a free CPR certification class. She concluded the project by donating an automated external defibrillator to Grovetown’s St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Church, where she attended.
The device is “used to help those experiencing sudden cardiac arrest,” according to the American Red Cross training services website. It analyzes heart rhythm and can enable the delivery of electrical shock or defibrillation to assist the heart in re-establishing an effective rhythm.
The donated device ended up saving a parishioner’s life approximately six years later, when in November 2020, a person in the congregation suffered a heart attack.
“During mass, I noticed there was someone having some type of medical issue,” Deacon Bob Kepshire said of the parishioner whose name is withheld for medical privacy reasons. As fate would have it, Kepshire works as the chief nursing officer at University Hospital in Thomson, Ga.
Kempshire realized the matter was serious when he heard the automated AED voice.
“I left the altar and went to the back of the church,” he said. “It was clear the individual was in critical condition.”
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Kepshire began chest compressions. When the ambulance arrived, the parishioner was taking shallow breaths and moving. He survived the attack that could have been fatal.
“I know the importance of early intervention,” Kepshire said. “Having access to an AED can make a difference in survivability.”
Delaney’s project fit perfectly into the church’s safety plan, according to Helling. Adoption of the Security for Houses of Worship blueprint inspired members and staff to attend CPR training that included the use of AEDs.
“Donating the AED to our church was part of (Delaney’s) plan and our plan to make the campus as safe as possible for all our parishioners,” Deacon Joseph Soparas said.
Delaney said her Gold Award project awakened a passion for health and helping others. She currently works as an ICU nurse in Atlanta.
“It was very surreal to hear that the AED was used and helped save a life,” Delaney said. “When I donated the AED, I really just anticipated that it would be in the church, but a part of me never really expected it to actually be put to use.”
Shellie Smitley is a staff writer for The Augusta Press. Reach her at shellie@theaugustapress.com
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