place defibrillators
in all K-8 buildingsCorrespondent
PTAs sought to
place defibrillators
in all K-8 buildings
Correspondent
Safety is a priority for the PTA members who support Marlboro’s elementary and middle schools.
The PTAs and the Board of Education recently purchased 14 portable automated external defibrillators (AED) that they believe will ensure the safety of students, faculty and administrators.
"We heard about it in a meeting, and Linda Attanasio, the school district’s supervisor of special services, described its benefits to us," said Gina Donato, president of the Asher Homes Elementary School PTA. "We felt it was something we should have in our schools."
According to a University of Chicago study, in the United States about 350,000 people die every year from sudden cardiac arrest. Studies show that the immediate use of an AED can help save the lives of at least half of these people.
Information from the Amer-ican Heart Association states that for every minute defibrillation is delayed, a victim’s chance of survival decreases by 7 to 10 percent. If a defibrillator is not used within 12 minutes of the onset of sudden cardiac arrest, the survival rate for adults is less than 5 percent.
Dr. Ricardo Samson, associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Arizona, Tucson, and lead author of the statement from the heart association, said there is a widespread misconception that smaller children should get proportionately lower shock doses. Samson said the research suggests that children might need higher doses than what was previously thought for effective defibrillation.
According to the Reuters Health Information Internet Web site, sudden cardiac arrest is a rapid shaking of the heart and is fatal if the normal beat is not restored at quickly as possible.
The American Heart Association states that AEDs are now considered safe for use on any person over the age of 1. Until recently the devices were only approved for people age 8 and older. Some AEDs do not have pediatric electrode pads, but even they can still be used safely on children 1 and older, the heart association said.
The Marlboro K-8 school district consists of five elementary schools, two middle schools and the Marlboro Early Learning Center. The district’s administration building and the transportation/buildings and grounds facility will also get an AED.
The defibrillators have not been placed in the buildings yet, Attanasio said, but they are expected to be ready for use during the summer.
In total, $24,640 was spent on these medical devices, which cost $1,760 each. In all, 14 defibrillators were purchased, 12 by the members of the PTAs from Marlboro’s schools and two by the Board of Education.
"Everybody was willing to work together in this," Donato said.
According to Donato, there were no special fund-raisers to raise the money for the defibrillators. Each year the PTAs hold fund-raisers such as a fall carnival, a magic show, a ladies’ night out, a plant sale and a book sale. Money raised at those annual events helped to purchase the defibrillators, she said.
The idea to place AEDs in the schools first came under consideration in December. The decision to purchase the machines was made in February after a vote of the PTA presidents. The money was finally sent in during April.
"The state does not mandate [the AEDs] at the elementary schools, only at the high schools," Attanasio said.
Attanasio said while there has never been an instance in a Marlboro school which required the use of an AED, administrators have heard of occasions when one has been needed in a school. Putting the equipment in schools will be a way of preparing for anything that may happen, she said.
"If anything should happen in school and something as easy as having a defibrillator could save a life, we thought having one was definitely necessary," Donato said.
A statement by the American Heart Association said there have been situations reported in which an AED was available but a child died because there was no one trained to retrieve and use the device.
With the purchase of the defibrillators, the Marlboro school district needed to train employees in their use. The first training session was held June 20 when 14 administrators, custodians and other staff members were taught how to operate the defibrillator.
Another training session will be held Oct. 24, which will be open to all staff members who wish to be educated in the use of the defibrillator, she said. School nurses have already been trained to use the defibrillators.