La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, Mexico - There's soon going to be a major improvement in public safety for residents and visitors of the North Shore area of Banderas Bay.

Last month, the Amigos de La Cruz Asociación Civil (civic association) approved an allocation of their funds to purchase an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED).

Thanks to this generous donation, starting in July, a Protección Civil Nayarit ambulance will carry the AED on board.

The ambulance is often on-site at public events and responds to medical emergencies throughout the municipality from its fire station in La Cruz.

Protección Civil Nayarit has a second ambulance which is housed in a fire station in Nuevo Vallarta. Both ambulances are called upon to respond anywhere in the municipality.

Thanks to part-time Bucerías residents from Colorado who donated $300, a project to buy an AED for the second ambulance is well on its way.

Please consider making a donation so that the second AED can be purchased.

For those who don't know, an AED is a portable device that checks the heart rhythm and, if necessary, can send an electric shock to the heart to try to restore a normal rhythm.

AEDs are used to treat sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).

SCA is a condition in which the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When this happens, blood stops flowing to the brain and other vital organs.

Using an AED on a person who is having SCA may save the person's life.

For more information, or to find out how you can participate, contact Harold Sokolove at harold.sokolove(at)gmail.com.