Pencils? Check. Pens? Check.
Notebooks? Check. Folders? Check.
AEDs? Come again?
An AED, an automatic external defibrillator, can make the difference between life and death on a school campus – indeed, anywhere.
Cardiac arrest happens when the heart’s electrical impulses suddenly misfire. The heart becomes unable to pump blood. Unconsciousness quickly follows and, without an electrical shock from a defibrillator within minutes, chances for resuscitation are grim. Only one victim in 20 typically survives.
Calling 911 and administering CPR are the first two links in what the American Heart Association calls the “Chain of Survival.” Defibrillation (which mostly anyone can give) and advanced life support (from a trained rescuer) are the other two links.
365,000 North Americans will die from sudden cardiac arrest this year; 7,000 of the SCA victims will be young. Six-year-old Emiliano was one of the lucky ones. His school had an AED when he went into cardiac arrest.
An AED study published in the August 11, 2009 Circulation (a journal of the American Heart Association) found that at 1,710 U.S. high schools with AEDs on site, nearly two-thirds of cardiac arrest victims survived. That’s more than 12 times higher than the typical survival rate of only about 5 percent when cardiac arrest occurs outside of a hospital.
For perspective, lead researcher Dr. Jonathan A. Drezner says cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death in young athletes. Of the 36 cardiac arrests in the high school study, 14 struck student athletes. Nine of them survived. Among the 22 adult occurrences, fourteen survived.
Kaitlin Forbes survived too. She was running to first base when she fell.
This child wasn’t as fortunate. No AED was present. He did not survive.
Can I say that he would have definitely survived if there had been a defibrillator present? No, I can’t. It’s not that linear. But for $1,500 or so, and that were my child, I wouldn’t want to find out the hard way.
My kids’ school has a defibrillator. Does yours? Ask them before the school year starts.
You are welcome to email me for more information or fill in this form and say you found out about defibrillators on Dad-O-Matic.
Other cardiac arrest statistics:
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Joe Hage is the director of marketing communications for Cardiac Science, manufacturers of the Powerheart AED G3 defibrillator, so he has a vested interest in defibrillator sales. He encourages you to do your own research on defibrillation in schools. The most important thing is that you have a defibrillator (any brand), not necessarily his.
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Joe
Great post. I have watched a friend of mine fight tooth and nail with a school board in California regarding having this in his son’s school (for his son’s sake due to a heart condition) but the answer is always no. They are always concerned about liability and who would be trained to use it etc, etc. all of which is absolutely ridiculous in light of what kind of press the school would recieve if something were to happen and no AED were available.
That said how does a parent “fight city hall” to get them to take action and have an AED present in schools? Have you seen any techniques that work?
Thanks.
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Joe
Great post. I have watched a friend of mine fight tooth and nail with a school board in California regarding having this in his son's school (for his son's sake due to a heart condition) but the answer is always no. They are always concerned about liability and who would be trained to use it etc, etc. all of which is absolutely ridiculous in light of what kind of press the school would recieve if something were to happen and no AED were available.
That said how does a parent “fight city hall” to get them to take action and have an AED present in schools? Have you seen any techniques that work?
Thanks.
#
Joe
Great post. I have watched a friend of mine fight tooth and nail with a school board in California regarding having this in his son's school (for his son's sake due to a heart condition) but the answer is always no. They are always concerned about liability and who would be trained to use it etc, etc. all of which is absolutely ridiculous in light of what kind of press the school would recieve if something were to happen and no AED were available.
That said how does a parent “fight city hall” to get them to take action and have an AED present in schools? Have you seen any techniques that work?
Thanks.
#
Frank, thank you, and this is a good question.
I think the best way to fight city hall is to present them with a preponderance of facts. The law is on the side of companies that implement AED programs:
* The Cardiac Arrest Survival Act (Federal Law 106-505, signed by President Clinton in 2000) encourages placement of AED machines and provides AED users and acquirers with liability protection. Additionally, each state in the US has Good Samaritan laws that exempt from liability anyone who renders emergency treatment with a defibrillator to save someone’s life.
* Because a victim of sudden cardiac arrest is without a pulse, he or she is, in effect, already dead. The only known way to restore the pulse, and the victim’s life, is by using a defibrillator. That’s why AED laws support and encourage the use of AEDs by lay responders.
* No company (or any entity) has ever been found at fault in a wrongful death suit involving an AED. In fact, with AEDs becoming common safety devices, organizations could be at risk for not having these devices on site. For example, http://www.sca-aware.org/forum/sca-survivors-family/families-sca-victims/my-brother-fowler-vs-bally-total-fitness
If that doesn’t work, show them what’s happening in Maryland to this pool that failed to get a defibrillator: http://www.cardiacscience.com/blog/2009/07/aed-lawsuits/
Another, and very effective, strategy is to work with public accessible defibrillation (PAD) programs in your area. San Diego Project Heartbeat has saved 62 people in San Diego so far: They are extraordinary advocates to have on your side. Parent Heart Watch http://www.parentheartwatch.org/ is another.
Reach out to these organizations. They can make things happen. And you’re welcome to reach out to me. Cardiac Science has the only dedicated direct sales force for defibrillators. Our team fights these battles every day.
Let us at ’em. 😉
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Frank, I see you’re in North Carolina. You probably read that your State Representative Becky Carney was saved by an AED: http://www.cardiacscience.com/blog/2009/07/rescued-aed-rep-carney-shares-story/?utm_source=DOM&utm_medium=Web&utm_campaign=SchoolSupply
#
Frank, thank you, and this is a good question.
I think the best way to fight city hall is to present them with a preponderance of facts. The law is on the side of companies that implement AED programs:
* The Cardiac Arrest Survival Act (Federal Law 106-505, signed by President Clinton in 2000) encourages placement of AED machines and provides AED users and acquirers with liability protection. Additionally, each state in the US has Good Samaritan laws that exempt from liability anyone who renders emergency treatment with a defibrillator to save someone's life.
* Because a victim of sudden cardiac arrest is without a pulse, he or she is, in effect, already dead. The only known way to restore the pulse, and the victim's life, is by using a defibrillator. That's why AED laws support and encourage the use of AEDs by lay responders.
* No company (or any entity) has ever been found at fault in a wrongful death suit involving an AED. In fact, with AEDs becoming common safety devices, organizations could be at risk for not having these devices on site. For example, http://www.sca-aware.org/forum/sca-survivors-fa…
If that doesn't work, show them what's happening in Maryland to this pool that failed to get a defibrillator: http://www.cardiacscience.com/blog/2009/07/aed-…
Another, and very effective, strategy is to work with public accessible defibrillation (PAD) programs in your area. San Diego Project Heartbeat has saved 62 people in San Diego so far: They are extraordinary advocates to have on your side. Parent Heart Watch http://www.parentheartwatch.org/ is another.
Reach out to these organizations. They can make things happen. And you're welcome to reach out to me. Cardiac Science has the only dedicated direct sales force for defibrillators. Our team fights these battles every day.
Let us at 'em. 😉
#
Frank, thank you, and this is a good question.
I think the best way to fight city hall is to present them with a preponderance of facts. The law is on the side of companies that implement AED programs:
* The Cardiac Arrest Survival Act (Federal Law 106-505, signed by President Clinton in 2000) encourages placement of AED machines and provides AED users and acquirers with liability protection. Additionally, each state in the US has Good Samaritan laws that exempt from liability anyone who renders emergency treatment with a defibrillator to save someone's life.
* Because a victim of sudden cardiac arrest is without a pulse, he or she is, in effect, already dead. The only known way to restore the pulse, and the victim's life, is by using a defibrillator. That's why AED laws support and encourage the use of AEDs by lay responders.
* No company (or any entity) has ever been found at fault in a wrongful death suit involving an AED. In fact, with AEDs becoming common safety devices, organizations could be at risk for not having these devices on site. For example, http://www.sca-aware.org/forum/sca-survivors-fa…
If that doesn't work, show them what's happening in Maryland to this pool that failed to get a defibrillator: http://www.cardiacscience.com/blog/2009/07/aed-…
Another, and very effective, strategy is to work with public accessible defibrillation (PAD) programs in your area. San Diego Project Heartbeat has saved 62 people in San Diego so far: They are extraordinary advocates to have on your side. Parent Heart Watch http://www.parentheartwatch.org/ is another.
Reach out to these organizations. They can make things happen. And you're welcome to reach out to me. Cardiac Science has the only dedicated direct sales force for defibrillators. Our team fights these battles every day.
Let us at 'em. 😉
#
Frank, I see you're in North Carolina. You probably read that your State Representative Becky Carney was saved by an AED: http://www.cardiacscience.com/blog/2009/07/resc…
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Frank, I see you're in North Carolina. You probably read that your State Representative Becky Carney was saved by an AED: http://www.cardiacscience.com/blog/2009/07/resc…
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All Americans should know CPR and how to use an AED…it is our civic duty.
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All Americans should know CPR and how to use an AED…it is our civic duty.
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All Americans should know CPR and how to use an AED…it is our civic duty.
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Thank you, Heart System Advocate.
Do you belong to (or represent) a heart safety organization? If so, how does your group go about bringing awareness to your communities?
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Thank you, Heart System Advocate.
Do you belong to (or represent) a heart safety organization? If so, how does your group go about bringing awareness to your communities?
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Thank you, Heart System Advocate.
Do you belong to (or represent) a heart safety organization? If so, how does your group go about bringing awareness to your communities?
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It was a very nice idea! Just wanna say thank you for the information you have shared. Just continue writing this kind of post.
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