Contact: Bill Avington Director of Marketing and Communications 215-978-1962/ bavington@sjprep.

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NEWTOWN RESIDENT TO PRESENT AT MEDICAL CONFERENCE THIS FALL; ALSO MEDALLED AT INTERNATIONAL ROWING COMPETITION
PHILADELPHIA - Newtown resident Andrew Greubel, a junior at St. Josephs Prep, had an interesting summer. First, he represented the United States as part of the junior national team at the CanAmMex Regatta in Oklahoma City. Then, he put the finishing touches on a poster that was accepted to be presented a national medical conference in October. Greubel, a member of the Preps highly regarded crew team, spent three weeks training with the US Junior National High School Performance Team in Pittsburg then was chosen to compete in the Canadian Mexican American Regatta in Oklahoma City, Okla., July 1213. There he competed in the pairs, winning a silver medal, and the eight, winning a gold. Greubel wasnt alone in this venture; current seniors Kevin Keirnan, Colin Fitzpatrick and newly graduated John Ghaul also participated in the US Rowing Summer Teams program. He also spent time this summer finishing a poster of research that he completed on the need for better training of coaches to use automated external defibrillators (AED). An AED is a portable electronic device that automatically diagnoses the potentially life threatening cardiac arrhythmias of ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia in a patient, and is able to treat them through defibrillation, the application of electrical therapy which stops the arrhythmia, allowing the heart to reestablish an effective rhythm. Greubel surveyed 60 people at the Upper Makefield Athletic Association. Half of the group was given no education on AEDs and half received a pamphlet and a video on how to use it. The confidence that people gained with some instruction made them more likely to help in an emergency.

With more of a comfort level, people are much more willing to get involved, says Greubel. His mother, Dr. Janet Lioy, is a neonatologist at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia. She and other CHOP doctors were helpful to Andrew on this project. Greubels poster was accepted to be presented at the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference in Orlando, Fla., on October 27-28. Greubel says that his research shows that local athletic organizations need to do more to ensure that coaches and parents have knowledge in case of emergencies. Greubel is an exceptional kid, perhaps reflected in his desire to attend the Prep. Though it was a bit further away than other schools, he chose it for the outstanding academics that the Prep provides. I appreciate how valuable a St. Josephs Prep education is, he says. After visiting the Prep during an Open House and then meeting Prep faculty and other students, he was sold. St. Josephs Preparatory School is a Catholic, urban, college preparatory school for boys in Philadelphia. In the tradition of the Jesuit priests who founded the school, The Preps mission is to develop the minds, hearts, souls and characters of young men in their pursuit of becoming Men for and with Others. For more information, go to www.sjprep.org.