Student's death spurs school
safety review
By Katie Friedman, Monticello Times.com
May 31st, 2005
On May 10, Marissa Towler went to class at Whitmore
Lake Elementary School like any other day. But she
never came home. The 10-year-old collapsed on a school
track and died a short time later.
Marissa's death raises questions about emergency medical response in schools
and has caused officials from the school district
and the ambulance company to review their policies.
The tragedy also provides lessons for parents who
may wonder just how safe their children are at school.
About 715,000 sports- or recreation-related injuries
occur in and around schools each year, according to
the National Safe Kids Campaign.
A bill pending in the state Legislature, sponsored
by state Sen. Beverly Hammerstrom, R-Temperance, is
aimed at reducing injuries by requiring school coaches
to be certified in sports safety training, including
injury prevention, first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation
and emergency procedures by July 2007.
Marissa's mother, Melinda Kelley, said she wants
to start a campaign to pass legislation in her daughter's
memory requiring schools to have an automated electronic
defibrillator, or AED, an ambulance and staff trained
in CPR on athletic fields during sporting events.
"Parents aren't really aware; they expect their
children to be in good hands," Kelley said. "I
don't want anyone to go through this. I want something
done so no one else loses their baby. It's the last
thing I can do for her."
Teachers called for emergency medical assistance
within five minutes after Marissa sat down on the
track at Whitmore Lake High School, where the fourth-grader
was participating in a fitness run, according to Superintendent
Scott Menzel. But Kelley disputes the timing and said
officials waited too long before calling for help.
The Northfield Township Fire Department arrived in
five minutes and found Marissa on her side. She had
vomited before the firefighters arrived. A few minutes
later Marissa stopped breathing and firefighters,
who were unable to restart her heart with an AED,
began administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
It took an ambulance dispatched from downtown Ann
Arbor 15 minutes to reach the child. But the ambulance
lost three precious minutes getting to Marissa because
there was no one from the school directing it to the
athletic field, said Joyce Williams, spokeswoman for
Huron Valley Ambulance.
Emergency workers worked on Marissa for about eight
minutes on the track before placing her in the ambulance
and continued CPR all the way to the University of
Michigan Hospital, Williams said. She was pronounced
dead a short time later. Laboratory tests are being
conducted to determine the exact cause of Marissa's
death.
"These are life and death situations,"
said Dr. Mark Stern, chief executive officer of the
Emergency Physicians Medical Group, which provides
services to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital's locations
in Washtenaw and Livingston counties. "Time is
critical and anything you can do to reduce response
time is crucial. Schools need a plan and to have people
trained in CPR who are comfortable taking care of
a collapsed child."
The Whitmore Lake Public Schools district has an
emergency medical response policy that was followed
properly in Marissa's case, Menzel said. As a result
of the death, school officials provided the ambulance
company with a map of the campus and plan to expand
CPR training for staff, he said.
A defibrillator was located inside the high school
and some school staffers are trained to use it, Menzel
said. Another staff member trained in CPR was also
at the track. But neither procedure was used because
Marissa was still breathing when emergency workers
arrived, he said.
Huron Valley Ambulance, which provides services in
Washtenaw, Jackson and Lenawee counties and parts
of Oakland and Wayne counties, is reviewing where
its ambulances are placed, as a result of Marissa's
death, Williams said.
State law does not require schools to have an emergency
medical policy but most districts have them as part
of their administrative policy for the protection
of students, said Brad Banasik, legal counsel for
the Michigan Association of School Boards.
But policies can vary by district.
In the Rochester Community Schools in Oakland County,
there is an AED in each of the district's 22 buildings,
said Donn Tignanelli, spokesman for the district.
At least three staff members are trained to operate
the machine and also have CPR training. The emergency
policy is also posted in all buildings, he said.
Keeping staff training up to date is also a crucial
part of an emergency plan, according to Stern.
"You need to make sure someone is available
to operate an AED," he said. "The worst
thing is to have a piece of equipment with no one
who knows how to use it." |
