defibrillators in all schools...please!

[Rosie the Riveter]

Student on a mission to get portable defibrillators in all schools
By DAVID TIRRELL-WYSOCKI
The Associated Press
7 hours, 21 minutes ago

http://theunionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Student+on+a+mission+to+get+portable+defibrillators+in+all+schools&articleId=3b8545fc-69fb-4756-88e8-e0556d2f78bb

"And Keene has met with state Sen. Peter Burling, a former Kimball Union trustee, about drafting legislation to require defibrillators at schools.

Representatives of the Heart Association are excited about Keene's survival and his goal of helping others. They said states including Colorado, New York, Nevada, Ohio, Florida, Maryland and Virginia already require schools to have portable defibrillators. Lawmakers in Massachusetts and Texas will see proposals in their coming sessions.

Schools are just part of the national effort. Some states and cities require AEDs in public buildings. Others mandate them in health clubs, the subject of a bill waiting for Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's signature."

[Kat Kanning]

Because so many kids have heart attacks?

[mvpel]

Look for the strong hand of the manufacturer of these devices working behind the scenes for this legislative effort.

[KBCraig]

AEDs are great devices. They should be in schools, malls, airplanes, sports venues, etc., if they are purchased with private funds.

Kevin

[mvpel]

Maybe some Free Staters should get together and set up a subscription fund or do a fundraiser to supply schools with AEDs.

[aries]

AEDs are great devices. They should be in schools, malls, airplanes, sports venues, etc., if they are purchased with private funds.

Kevin

what use do they have in schools? such medical care isnt required more than once every year at most schools, I'd guess.... and thats why EMTs are so speedy

[Michael Fisher]

One of these AED proponents came to a Newmarket Business Association meeting asking us for funding for placing these devices in area schools "just incase". It only really seems useful for adults, to tell the truth. I do not believe she mentioned government funding at any point.

The NBA Board rejected the idea, and I handed the woman $20 for a private donation. Some of the Board members laughed, like I was trying to make a joke.

They just didn't get it. 

[KBCraig]

AEDs are great devices. They should be in schools, malls, airplanes, sports venues, etc., if they are purchased with private funds.

what use do they have in schools? such medical care isnt required more than once every year at most schools, I'd guess.... and thats why EMTs are so speedy

Stop guessing, and look at numbers.

A surprising number of students suffer heart problems during practice or games. Ever done two-a-days? Heart attacks at schools aren't limited to students. Teachers, staff, spectators at ballgames... People fall out. It happens.

Three grand for an AED is cheap compared to open heart surgery.

Kevin

[Rosie the Riveter]

One of these AED proponents came to a Newmarket Business Association meeting asking us for funding for placing these devices in area schools "just incase". It only really seems useful for adults, to tell the truth. I do not believe she mentioned government funding at any point.

The NBA Board rejected the idea, and I handed the woman $20 for a private donation. Some of the Board members laughed, like I was trying to make a joke.

They just didn't get it. 

Sounds like a nice thing to do -- a $20 donation is always appreciated by a charity. There are so many in the world who don't get it. Someday I hope to have all my tax dollars in my pocket. I would be able to triple the amount of $$$ that I donate.

[KBCraig]

The private funding approach is going very well. Unfortunately, Christine Hamm is still moving forward with a bill to make AEDs mandatory in schools.

Every time I read "Russell Keene", it makes me double-take. 

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/N/NH_PORTABLE_DEFIBRILLATORS_NHOL-?SITE=NHMAL&SECTION=STATE&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Jan 17, 4:08 PM EST

N.H. boy's portable defibrillator campaign progresses

By DAVID TIRRELL-WYSOCKI
Associated Press Writer

BERLIN, N.H. (AP) -- Three months ago, life changed for Matt Keene, when his heart stopped beating on his high school football field.

Thanks to the staff at Kimball Union Academy in Meriden having the right equipment and knowing how to use it, the 17-year-old athlete was revived and given a second chance at life. He vowed to use it to try to make sure others who fall victim to sudden cardiac arrest get the same chance.

On Wednesday, he completed the first step, announcing that he helped raise $20,254 in his hometown of Berlin - enough money to buy 14 of the defibrillators that saved him for schools in Berlin and neighboring Gorham.

At a ceremony at Berlin High School, Keene said he was living proof defibrillators work.

"This is just a small step in the scheme of things," he said. "The first step is always the most important."

Berlin High School Athletic Director Craig Melanson helped Keene and his parents, Edwina and Russell, raise the money. He said donations came from businesses; service groups; every bank in the community; Androscoggin Valley General Hospital Auxiliary, where Russell Keene is CEO; school groups and students at the New Hampshire Technical College in Berlin.

Zoll Medical Corp., which makes the defibrillators, also contributed, and made a video that's posted on its Web site to help Keene spread his story.

Keene's campaign financed enough machines, called Automated External Defibrillators, for every school in the city and for coaches to carry to practices and games.

"It's going to be part of their everyday equipment," he said.

Step 2 for Keene comes Monday when he meets with Gov. John Lynch, for as Keene and his family worked in his hometown to raise money in Berlin, legislators were lining up support in Concord for proposals to help put the machines into schools all over the state.

Keene hopes to enlist the governor's support. Colorado, New York, Nevada, Ohio, Florida, Maryland and Virginia already require schools to have portable defibrillators.

Some states and cities require the defibrillators in public buildings; others mandate them in health clubs, the subject of a bill recently signed by Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Rep. Christine Hamm, D-Hopkinton, began working on a bill last fall, after learning of a neighbor who had lost a son to sudden cardiac arrest.

She filed her paperwork in October, just days before Keene's collapse.

"I am thrilled beyond belief that the system worked for Matt," she said. "All the equipment was ready and people knew how to use it."

Fellow Hopkinton resident Khristin Carroll lost her son, Timothy, 22, to sudden cardiac arrest in 2000. He died alone in his apartment in Pittsburgh, Pa.

"Matt was in a situation where people were able to help him," Carroll said. "Timothy was not, but it's still important to be known that this would have saved his life."

It turned out Carroll's son had a heart problem that contributed to his death, so through a national group called Parentheartwatch.com, she not only is pushing for defibrillators in schools, but also for a National Children's Heart Screening Day in each state to try to uncover potential problems.

"You should not have to find these things out during an autopsy," she said.

Hamm said her objective is to raise awareness and set up a system for groups to raise money for the machines.

State Sen. Peter Burling, a former Kimball Union trustee, said the school called him after Matt's incident to tell him of Matt's intentions.

"I thought what he was trying to do was important and very deserving of my help, so I jumped right in," he said.

He said his bill is not yet final, but rather than mandating schools buy the devices, he expects it will call for forming a public-private trust to organize an effort to raise money through contributions for AEDs.

Supporters are looking into whether businesses could get a tax deduction or credit for donating to the cause.

"Matt has already proved it is possible to persuade people to do that," Burling said.

He said the project is a wonderful idea, but will run into a cold reality in the Legislature.

"It is also a project constrained by the fact that New Hampshire's revenue stream doesn't support operating expenses of state government, much less new initiatives."

If the bill required schools to buy the machines, it would run afoul of the state law banning the Legislature from requiring programs without providing the money to pay for them.

Burling said he will ask the Senate Finance Committee if it can include some state money to help get the project started. But he is not holding his breath.

Keene acknowledges funding is the main roadblock, and said supporters are brainstorming now to come up with ways to raise money.

"It can be done," he said. "All you need is a little hard work, a good community, good businesses and people who care.

Keene's father said Berlin, with its beleaguered economy, should be seen as a good example.

"If Berlin can do it, especially considering the economically challenging times that we've had, there isn't a school district in the state that can't do it," Russell Keene said.

[error]

I'd kick in some money for a defibrillator. But if they try to TAKE it, I might not be so willing.

[Dreepa]

I was in one of the schools here in Hopkinton the other day.

I saw one there.  So I guess that Hop already has them.

[lildog]

Wouldn't they then need someone trained on how to use one of these things?  I could see this leading to new positions created that are needed in every school and before you know it each school will require a full medical staff.

[Nat F]

Wouldn't they then need someone trained on how to use one of these things?  I could see this leading to new positions created that are needed in every school and before you know it each school will require a full medical staff.

They have new defibrillators that automate the process and require little more than the ability to follow simple instructions printed on or even spoken by the device.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automated_external_defibrillator

-Nat

[KBCraig]

Wouldn't they then need someone trained on how to use one of these things?

"Training" consists of watching a 15 minute video.

To use an AED, you unzip it, and the buttons you push are labeled in order. The ones I'm familiar with use a voice prompt and tell you exactly what to do.