A few months back, we had a rather scary incident here at Healthmark. One of our valued team members had a heart attack while at work. It happened right here, right while he was discussing plans for upcoming trade shows. Tim Kelch, our Trade Show Coordinator, had been diagnosed a while back with an arrhythmia. It was being treated with medication. But what his cardiologist didn't know was that Tim had a very serious blockage in his arteries. The worst happened while he was at work.

I am happy to say that Tim was lucky that day. He was doubly lucky. First, Healthmark had installed AED's in a couple of key locations in our facilities. Second, we have on staff someone experienced with using an AED in real life, Purchasing Agent, David Martini. It was Dave's quick action with the AED that doctors tell us saved Tim's life. Since that incident, Tim has become a big time advocate for having AED's on hand, promoting their installation wherever he goes. In fact, at Healthmark, we went from having a couple to having a bunch - one easy to reach in every work area.

It is Tim's advocacy and the inspiring story of Dave's quick action with the AED that prompted our vendor, Cintas to invite Tim and Dave to address their metro-Detroit field team during their Monday morning "safety training" sessions. As the people at Cintas explained to me, they had never had someone who benefited from ready access to AED's address their field team. I can tell you that after hearing our story, the staff at Cintas were so appreciative and also proud of the important part they play in saving lives - the real life of a real person.

We are on the eve of February, American Heart Month, so it seemed a very appropriate time to remind all of our valued readers of the importance of taking steps, both individually and organizationally, to promote heart health.

Now I have a confession to make. Usually when we have personal stories like this, we refrain from promoting products. But if you know Tim, you know that Tim is a born marketer. So you will understand that Tim would never forgive me, if we failed to promote a product! In this case, though, I think it makes particular sense. We have a couple of PPE Decals that tie in very well with American Health Month - our "Heart of the Hospital" and our Red Ribbon decals. So be sure to check the free coupon for one of each below to help promote heart health amongst your family, friends and coworkers.