State College police, 911 looking to update AED database
If you have an automated external defibrillator nearby, then this one goes out to you.
The State College Police Department is working with Centre County 911 and the local chapter of the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association to update its database of office buildings, places of worship and other public places that keep an AED on site.
According to the American Red Cross, the device is the only effective treatment for restoring a regular heart rhythm during cardiac arrest, with the odds survival reduced by 10 percent for every minute delayed.
It’s kind of like a hard reset that you would do for a phone or a computer.
Eliza Shaw
Centre LifeLink EMT“It’s kind of like a hard reset that you would do for a phone or a computer,” Eliza Shaw, an EMT with Centre LifeLink EMS, said.
While stumbling across a stalled laptop presents less of a challenge than, say, a co-worker going into sudden cardiac distress, AED’s are built to accommodate civilians with little to no training.
In other words, they’re very user friendly.
“They’re designed to be used with the understanding the people using them are in extremely high stress situations,” Shaw said.
She maintains records on the many AED’s throughout the community that have been purchased via Centre LifeLink.
In some cases, Shaw said that the machines are often already in use before EMTs arrive at the scene of a cardiac episode.
We hope to make better use of AED’s across the county.
Norm Spackman
assistant director at Centre County 911Still, even the simplest AED is of no use to anyone if it’s too well hidden.
An updated database would allow dispatchers at 911 to direct callers to the exact location of the nearest machine, saving valuable time.
Norm Spackman, assistant director at Centre County 911, said that they are still in the process of compiling a list of locations.
“We hope to make better use of AED’s across the county,” Spackman said.
Information — including name, address and floor number — can be submitted by contacting State College police at 234-7150 or visiting the department’s website.
Frank Ready: 814-231-4620, @fjready
This story was originally published July 11, 2017 at 11:14 PM with the headline "State College police, 911 looking to update AED database."