Ensure Your Student’s Safety
Schools are well-drilled and prepared to keep students, staff, and the community safe from safety risks such as fires, violence, and other emergencies. Shouldn’t you also ensure your campus is prepared to respond to sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), one of the leading causes of death in the United States?
Sudden cardiac arrest takes the lives of over 366,000 people annually. Sudden cardiac arrest can strike anyone of any age, anywhere, at any time, without warning. Most of these cardiac arrests take place outside of the hospital, happening in gatherings such as classrooms, schools, universities, and athletic events. Without an immediate emergency response, victims of cardiac arrest only have minutes to live. For every minute that goes by without a defibrillating shock from an AED, their chance of survival drops by 10%. Unfortunately, the average EMS response time is around seven minutes, meaning most of the time, necessary life-saving equipment and help does not arrive in time. As a result, up to 95% of out-of-hospital SCA victims die because of a delay in emergency response.
- SCA is the leading cause of death on school campuses
- SCA is the leading cause of death for student-athletes
- On average, SCA tragically takes the lives of between 7,000-10,000 American youth every year
We help schools and universities install life-saving AEDs, and often field questions about AEDs in all educational settings. How important is CPR? How much does an AED cost? How hard is an AED to maintain? Is my school required to have an AED? What AED features should my school consider? How many AEDs does my campus need? We’ll do our best to answer all these questions and more.
A Simple Life-Saving Solution
Cardiac arrest can strike any student, teacher, or faculty member in your educational system, but certain risk factors such as age, diet, lifestyle, and underlying health conditions make certain people more susceptible. Sudden cardiac arrest is caused by an irregular rhythm of electrical activity in the heart, and can only be treated with an electric shock called defibrillation from an AED. Automated External Defibrillators are designed to be an easy-to-use, intuitive, and cost-effective life-saving solution.
Preparing for AEDs in the School
Types of AEDs:
AEDs come in all shapes and sizes but all are designed to be used by either an untrained bystander or a trained medical professional to deliver a life-saving shock in a critical situation. However, AEDs have features that make them ideal for certain settings. For schools and universities, including Pre-K and elementary, middle and high school, private universities, and state colleges, we recommend the Zoll AED Plus, the Cardiac Science G5, and the Philips FRx AED. These AEDs have low long-term cost of ownership comes with features ideal for school settings:
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New AED,Rescue-Ready out of the box
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Simple interface. Designed with ease-of-use in mind for anyone to save a life
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A timed metronomeguides rescuers on CPRtempo
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Long Life
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Eight-Year manufacturer warranty(longest in the industry)
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Daily, weekly, and monthly self-tests foreasy maintenance
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Rugged, durable unitwith a high IP rating and wide range of storage conditions
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Pediatric pads or keysavailable, easily switch to a child-safe shock level
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Wall-mountedcabinetavailable
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AEDwall signavailable
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First Aid Kitavailable
Emergency Response Plan
An Emergency Response Plan outlines the exact steps your faculty should take if a student, teacher, faculty member, parent, or visitor has a sudden cardiac arrest on your premises. The ERP should include the specific instance of sudden cardiac arrest, noting the steps of emergency response and the locations of AEDs in your facility. Your school’s Emergency Response Plan should be reviewed annually, made available to all faculty and parents, and include:
- The creation of a Cardiac Emergency Response Team
- The steps to activate the CERT team, notifying the local EMS, and handoff once paramedics arrive
- AED placement(s) within the facility and AED maintenance schedule
- Budgetary consideration for replacing old units, adding units to account for expansion/quicker response, annual AED maintenance, and replacing expired pads/batteries
- Cardiac arrest response drills
Maintenance Plan:
To ensure your school’s AED is working and ready to save a life, the AED must be stored and maintained properly. The G5, AED Plus, and FRx AED perform daily, weekly, and monthly self-checks and will signal when something is wrong. However, it’s recommended you check on your AED at least monthly, keeping a record of expiration dates, self-test results, and service dates.
- Check the green readiness indicator on the top right of your device
- Listen for chirping or beeping sounds indicating an issue with the device
- Ensure the pads and batteries are within their usable dates, reordering if either is about to expire.
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It is recommended you send your AEDs to a biomedical service provider for an annual Preventative Maintenance check-up. Trained and certified technicians will clean your device, ensure it passes all tests, and alert you to any needed repairs or issues.
Featured AEDs
HEARTSTART FRX AED
The Philips FRx AED is a lightweight, tough, reliable device providing step-by-step voice instructions, CPR guidance and SMART biphasic shock technology. Optional pediatric key not included. The FRx is designed for ease-of-use and longevity
POWERHEART G3 AED
The Cardiac Science PowerHeart G3 AED, available in semi-automatic or fully automatic models, is equipped with STAR® biphasic waveform, voice and text prompts, and status indicators. The G3 is designed for clarity during critical moments.
ZOLL AED PLUS
The ZOLL AED Plus sets a new standard for ease of use in emergency situations, delivering voice, text, and visual prompts alongside real-time CPR feedback. The AED Plus supports rescuers with Real CPR Help®, a robust design, and low ten-year cost of ownership.
POWERHEART G5 AED
The Powerheart G5 AED from Cardiac Science boasts user-friendly features like dual-language functionality, clear voice and texts instructions, and variable escalating energy. The G5’s rugged reliability and smart technology ensures readiness, all backed by an 8-year warranty.
Frequently Asked Questions about AEDs in the School
Does my school require an AED?
Some states have mandatory laws for schools and universities, requiring AED placement and widespread training. Other states leave it up to the school system’s discretion. Here are the states with some level of requirement for AEDs in schools (whether public or private, school or university):
Even if your state does not require it, keeping AEDs near classrooms, cafeterias, playgrounds, and gymnasiums can be a vital, life-saving measure. SCA is the leading cause of death on school campuses, affecting between 7,000 to 23,000 youth a year, according to the American Heart Association. Cardiac arrest can be triggered by any physical activity, which poses a major threat to young children who are often more hyper and playful in their day-to-day lives than adults.
What’s the best AED for my School?
For schools, we recommend the Zoll AED Plus, Cardiac Science G5, or the Philips FRx AED. Our AED School Packages are designed with any size school in mind and is a comprehensive package with everything you need to install the AED in your facility. The price of a new unit is an investment, but the industry-leading warranty, long lifetime on pads, and four-year battery life means the low cost-of-ownership pays off quickly and saves you money over a 3, 5, or 10-year outlook. These units are durable and long-lasting. All 3 of these new units are in-stock, supported by their manufacturer, and have no issues with backorders or PMA.
How many AEDs should my school have?
Saving someone from sudden cardiac arrest relies on the amount of time that happens between the cardiac emergency and the deployment of the AED. For every minute that passes after an SCA without a defibrillating shock, the survival odds decrease by 10%. Because time is so precious, AEDs should be at most three minutes (from emergency scene -> AED retrieval -> returning with AED) from any given location in your school.
The exact number of AEDs in a school facility depends on several factors, including the shape and layout of your floorplan and how many buildings are on premises. A good rule of thumb is to keep at least one AED per building, with at least one AED per floor. On many school campuses with multiple buildings, libraries, athletic facilities, and event centers, one AED is just not enough. A great proof of concept is putting your Cardiac Emergency Response Team to the test. Time how long it takes to retrieve the AED from different locations in your school. If the time between emergency and deployment is more than three minutes, you should invest in more AEDs.
How can I afford an AED?
AED costs are a barrier for many schools when purchasing these life-saving devices. However, studies show keeping an AED on campus can improve survival rates by over 7x, saving thousands of children’s lives every year. Strategies for funding the purchase of AEDs for your campus include:
- Pursue grants from local children’s safety organizations or Heart Health organizations. There are many foundations around the U.S. who’s primary focus is helping schools and youth athletic programs afford AEDs and teach CPR
- Look for help from local Rotary Clubs, many of which make tangible local investments in schools
- Partner with local retail stores and set up a donation program at checkout
- Many local health systems/hospitals help fund school AED programs
- Hold a local fundraising event, and teach the importance of CPR and quick response in a cardiac emergency