Defibrillators in several Hall schools

GAINESVILLE - Devices that are used to shock the heart in case of cardiac arrest have been placed in several Hall County schools.

The Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) are at Mount Vernon, Chestnut Mountain, Oakwood, Wauka Mountain, Tadmore elementary schools and each of the county's middle and high schools.

They are part of participating Hall County schools new public access defibrillation program that trains staff to recognize a cardiac emergency, perform CPR and use the device.

"We want to be sure we can effectively respond to any cardiac emergency that occurs on our property,"says Mamie Coker, RN, BSN, NCSN, Health Services Coordinator. "During the 2004-2005 school year in Georgia, at least four students and one teacher have suffered sudden cardiac arrest during school hours or school activities and died. While our program will allow us to respond to any person who collapses we certainly want to offer our young people every chance to survive, since cardiac arrest in this age group is so unexpected."

Every year almost 350,000 people suffer cardiac arrest and only about five percent of them survive. Cardiac arrest is a condition in which abnormal heart rhythms cause the heart's electrical impulses to suddenly become chaotic. Defibrillation, which delivers an electric shock to the heart, is the only known treatment to stop this chaotic electrical activity. For every minute defibrillation is delayed, the victim's chances of survival go down by 7 to10 percent.

Project S.A.V.E. (Sudden Cardiac Death: Awareness, Vision for Prevention and Education) is a program, created by Children's Healthcare of Atlanta to assist schools with implementation of a comprehensive program to prevent sudden cardiac death. This prevention program includes use of a pre-participation sports physical form to help identify students at risk, awareness of the school staff and community of the warning signs and treatment of sudden cardiac death, CPR/AED training, and overall implementation of a quality AED program. Schools that complete this program are recognized as Project S.A.V.E. Heart-Safe Schools.

On April 11, Hall County School System will be presented with a certificate in recognition of their efforts to implement such a prevention program.