Devices can save cardiac arrest victims
November 27, 2023 - By the end of next year, every Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) building will have at least one automated external defibrillator (AED) with some larger facilities having six. AEDs are medical devices that can be used on people experiencing cardiac arrest to help shock their heart back into rhythm. This month, JCPS began installing 337 AEDs in its 165 schools as well as other JCPS properties.
“We’re super excited about this,” said Dave Self, JCPS executive director of safety and environmental services.
Self said the push to get AEDs in every JCPS building began two years ago, in large part due to the increasing number of adolescents suffering from cardiac events, especially during athletic practices and games. While several JCPS schools already have AEDs, most were purchased by those schools’ PTAs or with school funds. Self and other JCPS administrators believed it would be more equitable if the district paid for the devices so every school would have them. The District is spending $552,000 on the new AEDs with additional funds set aside to train at least six people at each site on operating an AED, CPR and other first aid procedures.
“Cardiac events can happen anywhere, including in our schools or at our athletic facilities,” Self said. “We want to make sure our schools have these devices in place and staff are equipped and prepared to use them to save a life.”
Self said the number of portable AEDs in a JCPS building depends on its size. High schools will have five or six with one in the front lobby, one portable unit with the athletics
director and the rest in cases mounted on the wall throughout the building. Self said a person should be able to get to an AED within two minutes from anywhere in the building.
Installations began in early November. The devices are being placed in buildings in three phases with high schools and special sites in the first wave followed by middle schools then elementary schools. The first training session for JCPS employees is scheduled for Monday, November 27th. JCPS has a contract with Cintas to install the AEDs and provide training.