Local Hospital Makes Generous Donation

Thursday, May 24th 2007, 10:05 am

By: News On 6

Saint Francis is donating six portable defibrillators to Union and Broken Arrow baseball fields. Eleven-year-old Michael Slatcher was hit in the chest with a baseball bat a few weeks ago and went into cardiac arrest. CPR saved his life until EMSA arrived with a defibrillator. Since his accident, Slatcher started a campaign to raise money to buy a defibrillator for the sports complex. After hearing Slatcherâ€™s story, Saint Francis doctors decided to help.

"About 90% of the time when this happens to athletes, they don't survive. So having a defibrillator, which have been out for the past five to 10 years or so, can really make a really big difference," said Dr. Matthew Kimberling.

Slatcher also received season tickets to the Drillers after his accident.

Related Stories:

4/22/2007 11-Year-Old Ball Player Suffers Cardiac Arrest During Game

4/23/2007 Baseball Player Opens Up About His Brush With Death

4/27/2007 11-Year-Old Pushing For Defibrillators At Sports Parks