Shocking Statistics
Mar 1, 2009 12:00 PM, By Dave Bingham
An AED program can give education institutions assurance that they have invested in technology that can save lives.
Location, location, location
Once a school has AEDs, it needs to decide where the units should be situated. The AHA specifies that AEDs should be placed in areas where they can be deployed within three minutes. In order to decide an optimal location, facility managers and administrators should identify key locations within the building where an SCA incident is most likely to occur. For instance, large rooms used to host events such as auditoriums, gymnasiums and cafeterias are good locations for AEDs. In addition, main corridors linking these areas also might be a target location.
| Related Articles | ||
|
In a school, units should be kept in an unlocked, alarmed cabinet that sounds when it is accessed. Locked areas such as a nurse's office are not ideal locations. If AEDs are not accessible within the first three minutes that an incident occurs, the individual's chance of survival is reduced greatly.
AEDs also should be accessible during outdoor athletic events such as football and soccer games, cross-country and track meets, and practices. This can be part of an emergency-response bag that includes emergency oxygen, an AED, a first-aid kit and trauma equipment. Coaches and athletic trainers should be ready to deploy an AED if necessary.
Protecting the masses
Facility managers at schools should make staff aware of how to identify an individual with SCA, where units are situated and who to contact if an AED needs to be deployed. At schools without AEDs, facility managers should encourage administrators and other key personnel to review the statistics associated with student SCA and the importance of AEDs in reducing deaths associated with SCA.
Schools are epicenters of the community. AEDs are situated throughout many other community facilities such as grocery stores and exercise centers, but many schools are not equipped. With the new information relating to the risks associated with SCA in schools, now is the time to take action. Grant programs are making it possible for schools to secure funding for AEDs.
An AED program lets parents, administrators, students and community members know that schools have the technology that can save lives.
Do you have AEDs at your institution or wish you did? If so, comment on this article or at Schoolhouse Beat: The Blog.
Bingham is Director of AEDs and Training for Cintas' First Aid & Safety division, Cincinnati. He can be reached at binghamd@cintas.com or (800)246-8271.
Acceptable Use Policy blog comments powered by Disqus
