Workplace, public defibrillators
can save lives
By Joe Gardtasz, Des Moines Business Record Online
July 14th, 2005
If it were up to Sam Patterson, automated external
defibrillators would someday be as commonly available
in public buildings and workplaces as fire extinguishers
and first aid kits are now.
It's the AED success stories he hears week after
week that keep Patterson, the training center coordinator
for the Mercy School of Emergency Medical Services,
pushing for more placement of the devices by organizations
throughout Central Iowa.
The portable electronic devices, which sell for about
$2,100, will guide a user through the procedures necessary
to evaluate the heart rhythm of a sudden cardiac arrest
victim and automatically deliver a shock if it?s needed
to restore a normal heartbeat.
With the likelihood of survival diminished by about
10 percent for every minute that passes once the heart
stops, the devices, combined with cardiopulmonary
resuscitation, can buy time or even save a life before
paramedics arrive.
However, opinions differ whether a statewide registry
of AED locations, which is currently not required
in Iowa, should be mandated by the Legislature. Though
a registry would arguably result in more lives saved
by allowing an emergency dispatcher to alert a first
responder that an AED is available, others say that
registration requirements might deter businesses from
installing the devices.
"We would really like to see an official registry
that pops up with a dispatcher, rather than waiting
for the EMS to arrive, because it's time lost,"
said Shannon Rudolph, community heart and stroke director
for the American Heart Association's Heartland Affiliate
in Des Moines. "For every minute lost, the chances
of recovery go down 10 percent, so we want to see
people defibrillated in three to five minutes, tops."
Patterson, who chairs a coalition known as the Iowa
Defibrillation Education Advocates, said creating
a registry would be expensive and might not work well
for all 911 dispatch centers, which have various levels
of technical capabilities.
"There are bigger issues than just requiring
those who have them to register," he said. "It's
possible to have people use them effectively without
having to harp on them about regulations." One
of the most important aspects, he said, is that those
using AEDs have adequate training on how to use them,
that programs are in place so each organization has
a liaison with its local EMS department , and that
there are procedures for continued training and maintenance
of the devices.
AEDs have become commonplace enough in public places
ranging from malls, schools, office complexes, churches
and clinics that several Greater Des Moines EMS schools
offer public classes on how to use them, and are assisting
organizations in establishing public access defibrillator
programs.
"We'll go out for free for a site visit and
recommend how many (AEDs) they should have,"
Patterson said. "We're fairly active in getting
the information out to the community. It's not just
about putting a machine up on the wall; that's not
a program. It's people who save lives."
At the West Des Moines headquarters of FBL Financial
Group Inc., 34 employees are trained to use the two
AEDs available in the complex, where about 1,200 people
work. The company established its program in January
1999.
"We've been lucky," said Kathy Baldwin,
FBL's employee health services coordinator. "We
have not had to use it. But it is available."
The company conducts quarterly training exercises
for the employees who volunteer for the program, using
a non-shocking trainer AED from the West Des Moines
EMS department. "We try to come up with different
scenarios and locations," Baldwin said. "We
talk through the scenario and practice using the trainer."
The program meshes well with a medic/first aid course
FBL offers internally for its employees, she said.
About 65 workers have taken that program.
Central Iowa businesses are becoming much more aware
of AEDs, said Rob Schweers, a spokesman for the Iowa
Heart Center, which has assisted companies in buying
AEDs at discounted prices. Schweers estimates there
are probably at least 1,100 AEDs in place throughout
Central Iowa.
"We really don't have to advertise the service;
we get enough people calling us," said Schweers,
who attributed the widespread awareness in large part
to media coverage. "In the four years since we
started, we don't have to talk to people anymore about
what an AED is and what it does. Now it's, "Yes,
we want one," and "How soon can we get one?"
The city of West Des Moines was an early leader in
establishing public access defibrillator programs
at businesses. Beginning with just 10 companies in
1999, the city's EMS department now has 105 AEDs registered
at 74 businesses. Last year the city's EMS officials
trained more than 1,400 volunteers, including about
650 Valley High School sophomores, on how to use the
devices.
"AEDs are becoming so prevalent, we think it's
important to include it in each of our (CPR) classes,"
said Brian Helland, West Des Moines' deputy chief
for emergency medical services.
Last year, the West Des Moines EMS crews responded
to 33 cardiac arrest calls, two of which involved
the use of AEDs in public buildings by a volunteer.
Of those two cases, one person survived and fully
recovered.
"Somewhere between 80 and 90 percent of people
who go into cardiac arrest go into ventricular fibrillation,"
Helland said. "The remainder may not be in a
shockable rhythm. Those latter cases have a less than
1 percent chance of survival."
EMS crews are one of the ways that word about AEDs
is getting out to businesses, Helland said.
"If one of our crews runs a call at a business
where they think an AED may be beneficial, I'll make
a visit," he said. "Also, we've had tremendous
growth by word of mouth. We also try to target businesses
that may be difficult for us to get to in a short
amount of time. Insurance companies, for instance,
have increased their security for privacy reasons
and so it takes more time for us to get through that.
Marsh, for instance, has AEDs on each floor for that
reason."
From the perspective of an emergency room physician,
"it's just very important that these devices
are in public places," said Dr. Larry Baker,
director of the emergency departments of Iowa Methodist
Medical Center and Iowa Lutheran Hospital. "If
an individual goes down with a heart-related incident,
this is by far the most effective process, far better
than just doing CPR."
Though it's not very common for the emergency room
to receive someone who has had an AED shock administered,
"when you do see them, they're saved," he
said.
|
