Charter school gets new
defibrillator
By Dave Schneider, The Daily News
May 19th, 2005
Sudden cardiac arrest can happen anytime, anywhere
to people of all ages.
The Northwoods Charter Secondary School received
a Life Pak 500 Automated External Defibrillator Tuesday
through a grant program networked by Charter School
nurse Kerri Schmidt and Kevin Schlosser, ambulance
manager for Oneida County EMS. The program has now
completed ten AED installations in the School District
of Rhinelander.
"Hopefully, it will get dusty," said Schmidt
of the AED. "Placing AED's in key locations and
making sure people are trained to use them can mean
the difference between life and death."
The cost of the unit is approximately $2,200, including
the wall mount kit. Donations were collected from
area businesses and individuals as part of the Public
Access Defibrillation Program. Instructors, visitors
and adults who attend a school function have a local
opportunity to train in proper emergency AED use through
CPR classes offered at Nicolet College in a partnership
with the school district. Training is also available
through the American Red Cross in Rhinelander. Schmidt
coordinates the training each year for all of the
Charter School staff. Each school building in the
community has designated AED emergency situation responders.
With the installation comes a continued commitment
to raise public awareness, as an increasing number
of AED units have saved lives in Wisconsin schools.
Recently, an Eau Claire North basketball coach was
resuscitated and survived an attack thanks to the
availability of a defibrillator. The school had an
AED installed only months before the emergency.
The program used to obtain the AED grants for Rhinelander
schools was developed through networking with AED
medical advisor Dr. Mark Banas, Schmidt, and Schlosser.
The school based program was started as Project Adam,
named after a 17-year old boy who died while playing
basketball at a school in the southern part of Wisconsin
that did not have a defibrillator. The boy's family,
along with the Children's Hospital of Milwaukee, originally
put the program together.
"One of the requirements for the grants is establishing
community relationships," noted Schlosser. "It
has been a very successful program in that we have
been able to put this type of equipment in every school
building. The AED's are very important pieces of equipment
- we are glad that we have not had to use one in our
school district."
The current goal of the local funding organizers
is thirteen defibrillators. With the closing of three
area elementary schools, planning is in place for
some of those units to move to the swimming pool and
football field areas at Rhinelander High School.
"We have a very generous community," said
Schmidt. "I hope that we can continue our program
and continue to promote heart health in our community.
I would like to see more kids trained in the use of
defibrillators. Training in AED use is a life skill
- something that kids can take with them when they
leave school and possibly save a life someday."
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