Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Policy for Schools

Purpose To provide guidance in the management or administration of a school-based AED program. Check ONE box:

• For treatment of victims eight years of age and older ONLY.
• Includes treatment of children under eight years old or under 25kg (55 lbs).

Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is a condition that occurs when the electrical impulses of the human heart malfunction causing a disturbance in the heart’s electrical rhythm called ventricular fibrillation (VF). This erratic and ineffective electrical heart rhythm causes complete cessation of the heart’s normal function of pumping blood resulting in sudden death. The most effective treatment for this condition is the administration of an electrical current to the heart by a defibrillator, delivered within a short time of the onset of VF. An AED is used to treat victims who experience SCA. It is only to be applied to victims who are unconscious, without pulse, signs of circulation and normal breathing. The AED will analyze the heart rhythm and advise the operator if a shockable rhythm is detected. If a shockable rhythm is detected, the AED will charge to the appropriate energy level and advise a shock.

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Every day, nearly 1000 men, women and children die from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). Although SCA at any age is a tragedy, the loss is compounded when the life lost is young, with hopes and dreams unfulfilled.

Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) save more lives. An abnormal heart rhythm known as ventricular fibrillation (VF) commonly causes SCA. AEDs deliver a pulse of electricity, the single most effective way to restore the normal rhythm of a heart quivering in VF. Although not everyone experiencing SCA can be saved, studies show early defibrillation can dramatically improve survival rates.

Every minute counts. Typically, only about five percent of SCA victims survive. However, survival rates can increase up to 74 percent if CPR and a shock from an AED are provided within three minutes of collapse. Reducing response time by even one or two minutes from collapse to shock can mean the difference between death and survival.

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L-3 Saves Eleven Employees With Company-wide AED Program

The investment of time and resources L-3 made has paid off more than anyone could have imagined. Since L-3 implemented the AED program in 2005, eleven employees have been saved because an AED was on-site and people were trained to respond to someone in sudden cardiac arrest.

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An automated external defibrillator (AED) is used to treat victims who experience sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). It is only to be applied to victims who are unconscious, not breathing normally and showing no signs of circulation, such as normal breathing, coughing and movement. The AED will analyze the heart rhythm and advise the operator if a shockable rhythm is detected. If a shockable rhythm is detected, the AED will charge to the appropriate energy level and advise the operator to deliver a shock if the AED has a shock button, or deliver the shock automatically if the AED does not have a shock button.

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Protect your most valuable business asset: your people

Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) knows no boundaries.

• In Australia approximately 30,000 people sustain cardiac arrest outside hospital and are treated by emergency medical services (EMS) each year
• An average of only 9% of its victims in Australia survive
• It can happen anytime, anywhere and to anyone, even young athletes
• Early defibrillation is the single most effective treatment for SCA
• Defibrillation within three minutes of collapse can increase the chance of survival to over 70%

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Does your workplace have a Public Access Defibrillator?

Every year in Australia approximately 30,000 people suffer a sudden cardiac arrest away from a hospital, a figure derived from a few studies in a few Australian states, as no nation-wide data is collected. This lack of information is in itself is a problem when it comes to improving the care and survival of cardiac arrest victims: it is impossible to change that which we do not know or understand.

A sudden cardiac arrest can happen anywhere, any time: at a sporting event, at the beach, at work, at the airport, at home. In Australia, the overall survival rate from a cardiac arrest is less than 10%, yet there are parts of the world where the rate is dramatically higher.

In Seattle, Washington, USA, intensive efforts have pushed the rate of survival after cardiac arrest to 62%. Seattle is a metropolitan area with similar characteristics to metropolitan Australia. Elsewhere in North America, system-wide programs have pushed survival rates into the region of 20-30%.

Unfortunately there are some people who cannot be saved, despite our best efforts. These are mainly older people who suffer a cardiac arrest when they are at home alone. Yet this does not explain—or excuse—our national record.

We believe it is feasible to target a survival rate of 50%, which translates into some 12,000 more Australian lives saved every year. This represents 12,000 devastating personal tragedies we can avoid. It also represents significant social and economic savings.

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Sample Procedure

Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT) Member

1. Assess scene for safety.

2. Determine unresponsiveness.

3. Activate system: Dial # ______________________________.

4. Assess patient: a. Open airway. b. Check for breathing—if not breathing normally, give two breaths. Observe universal precautions using gloves and ventilation mask, if available. If breathing normally, place in the recovery position and monitor breathing closely. c. If not breathing normally, apply AED immediately. If AED is not immediately available, begin chest compessions and breathing (CPR) until AED arrives. If not confident or willing to provide rescue breaths, provide chest compressions only minimizing interruptions when the collapse is witnessed.

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“Positioning the strength of the overall LIFEPAK brand and the continuum of care across all 3 segments.”

Mission: We make Lifesaving Tools for Lifesaving Teams…unique medical products of the highest quality which predict or intervene in life threatening emergencies.

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525 people in Australia die each week out-of-hospital due to Sudden Cardiac Arrest.

When Sudden Cardiac Arrest strikes

Is your home Ready, Willing and Able?

Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) knows no boundaries.

• In Australia approximately 30,000 people sustain SCA outside of a hospital and are treated by emergency medical services (EMS) each year
• An average of only 9% of its victims in Australia survive
• It can happen anytime, anywhere and to anyone, even young athletes
• Early defibrillation is the single most effective treatment for SCA
• Defibrillation within three minutes of collapse can increase the chance of survival to over 70%

No matter where or when SCA strikes, early use of a defibrillator can help save lives.

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