Founder Ron Rubin‘s life was saved due to the availability of an automated external defibrillator (AED), and he wants to ensure that AEDs are placed where they can save people’s lives, specifically in California wineries.
His winery will cover the cost of the AEDs (valued at $1700 each) for each winery that is willing to have their staff trained by the American Red Cross (at a cost of approximately $60/person).
Rubin, who had run The Republic of Tea, since 1994, collapsed in 2009 while training in Marin County for what would have been his eighth marathon. Two years later he started his winery.
His son Todd, now president of The Republic of Tea, was at his side, called 911 and an emergency room crew administered electric shocks restarting his heart. He subsequently had an implantable defibrillator placed in his chest. It emits an electric impulse when he begins to go into ventricular tachycardia, which can lead to cardiac arrest.
“It saved my life four times,” Rubin said. “I have a sentimental attachment to my defibrillator.”
Sonoma County Winegrowers’ declaration on sustainability says people should be “trained, safe and treated with respect.” To Rubin, that means the necessary training and equipment should be available in wineries and vineyards in case someone goes into cardiac arrest.
A 2007 Johns Hopkins University study found use of an AED doubles the chances of someone surviving a sudden heart attack. It estimates AEDs could save at least 552 lives a year in the U.S. and Canada.
So far, 141 wineries have taken advantage of the program.