They moved into a gated community with a golf course and an excellent security force. They felt protected and cared for in their new community- On Tuesday, Bill had a tee time at 10:00 a.m.

He felt a little sluggish and his breakfast did not seem to be sitting well. Bill figured that he would play 18 holes and the exercise would make him feel better. After finishing his golf game he still felt as if he had severe indigestion and went home and laid down.

Suddenly he broke into chest pain, body sweats and a pain in his left arm. He called for his wife and passed out.

Gail immediately called 911 and requested an ambulance and notified security of the situation. Within two minutes a security officer was at her door, assessed the situation and began CPR on Mr. Blake.

The security officer was CPR certified, but this was the first 'real life' situation where he had to put his training to use. After seven minutes the county paramedics arrived and tried desperately to revive Mr. Blake.

Unfortunately, he had suffered brain damage during the eight minutes wait for the paramedics to arrive. Mr. Blake was transported to a local hospital and pronounced dead upon arrival.

This is a sad, but all to realistic description of a victim suffering a heart attack in South Florida. The American Heart Association constantly warns that one of the most dangerous times for a heart attack victim is during the first four minutes of the attack. Mrs. Blake did everything right and yet it was still eight minutes before a paramedic could arrive.

The Palm Beach Post recently did a study and discovered that the average time for a county Advanced Life Support vehicle with a paramedic in charge to arrive at a heart attack scene was seven and one half minutes, but this time jumped to nine minutes in rural, western parts of the County.

These are great response times and the County should be very proud of their fire service that is unparalleled in the service it provides. However, what about that critical, first four minutes of a heart attack?

Can something be done? At Elite Protection Services we believe something can and should be done. We have taken the initiative and integrated security and life support services.

With our integrated life protection system, when Mrs. Blake called security a state-licensed paramedic operating a state-licensed Advanced Life Support vehicle would have been at her door within a minute and a half. What type of aid would Mr. Blake have received?

The first thing the paramedic would have done would be to assess Mr. Blake's condition. Once it was determined that he was in cardiac arrest a whole arsenal of life support weapons could have been deployed. Mr. Blake could have been:

1. Put on an EKG monitor
2. Defibrillated
3. Endotracheally intubated
4. Had Intravenous lines set up
5. Administered 100% oxygen
6. Cardiac resuscitation medication could have been administered

In each and every community, where a paramedic operated Advanced Life Support vehicle, has been put on patrol, lives have been saved. Our paramedics have responded to heart attacks, strokes, spinal injuries, major wounds, breathing difficulties, allergic reactions and a host of less serious medical emergencies.

They maintain radio contact with responding county paramedics and enjoy an excellent liaison with the county fire rescue personnel.

Doctor John Halpern is the medical director for Elite Protection Services. Dr. Halpern oversees the entire paramedic operation and exercises quality control over the program.

He often rides in one of our Advanced Life Support Vehicles to insure that the paramedic is up to date on the latest life saving procedures.

Doctor Halpern also serves as medical director for the Emergency Department of Coral Springs Medical Center and is board certified in Emergency Medicine. He has also served as emergency medical director for several prestigious hospitals.

Property managers and marketing researchers have begun to ask themselves, why do people choose Florida as a retirement location? Well, the answer is obvious, great climate, friendly people and quality governmental services.

What has become a major question is why do prospective customers choose a particular community to live in? One common answer to this question is security, people want to feel safe in their community.

They are tired and fearful of the crime rates they have experienced in various places in our country. Imagine how protected a potential customer will feel when you tell them, we have a sophisticated and professional security team in our community and in addition we can have a paramedic in an Advanced Life Support vehicle at your door in a minute.

That affords residents a feeling of security unparalleled anywhere in the state.

At Elite Protection Services we believe that a properly administered and trained security force is a great deterrent to crime, however it is only half the story.