As a father, I want my children to be safe. I want them to be safe at home, outside playing in the park, and while at school. As a cardiologist, I know that it takes organization and planning to respond to a medical emergency.
The American Heart Association and several other organizations collaborated to create Medical Emergency Response Plan for Schools (MERPS), recommendations to help schools prepare for critical medical emergencies such as sudden cardiac arrest. While we don’t like to think about the unimaginable — our children being in a life-threatening situation especially while at school — we do need to be prepared to have a response plan and resources in place in case the unimaginable happens.
Five key elements are recommended by the American Heart Association for medical emergency response plans for schools: 1) effective and efficient communication throughout a school campus; 2) coordinated and practiced response plan; 3) risk identification and reduction; 4) training and equipment for first aid and CPR; and 5) implementation of a lay-rescuer automated external defibrillator (AED) program.
According to the American Heart Association, as much as 20 percent of the combined U.S. adult and child population can be found in schools on any give day. While life-threatening emergencies in schools are unusual, they do occur. These emergencies require planned, practiced and efficient response with the provision of first aid and possible CPR and use of an AED.
Learn more about the Medical Emergency Response Plan for Schools recommendations by calling 877-242-4277 or b visiting www.americanheart.org. Encourage your school administrators to adopt the recommendations of MERPS.
Charles Dennis
Mount Laurel Immediate Past President American Heart Association