Unless you have been living under a rock, you should have an idea of the importance of having an AED unit nearby. AED, or what most people know as Automated External Defibrillator, can be quite handy in saving a person’s life especially if you have no idea of how CPR is performed.
The AED is described as a portable electronic device that can be used in order to restore the normal rhythm of the heart’s beat. It has been proven to be most effective when used in cases of cardiac arrhythmias of ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia. What it does is apply electrical therapy in order to stop arrhythmia and allow the heart to return to its normal beating pattern. In many cases, the use of AED is taught in Basic Life Support Courses as well as in CPR trainings.
Coming up with your own AED program in place can be a good thing especially if you would like to ensure the wellbeing of the people around you. In order to have an AED program in place, one of the things that you have to settle early on would be the actual need for such programs. Once you are sure that your institution would benefit from one, you have to make sure that you appoint one person to serve as the lead in coming up with an AED management program. He or she would be responsible for ensuring the success of the program. Some of his or her activities would include acting as the liaison officer for the program, gathering needed information, and becoming thoroughly familiar with how an AED is used. Budgets, policies, and maintenance reports would be some of the output expected from the lead person.
You would also need to be familiar with the various state and jurisdictional requirements your state might have before you can activate an AED program within your institution. In most cases, you would be required to have a medical direction, training and certification in CPR and AED as well as guidelines on maintenance of the AED. You would also be required to have an EMS (Emergency Medical Services) notification system in place.
Having an AED policy and procedure in place would also be something that you have to consider. The policies and procedure should clearly outline the criteria, what each of the point person would have to do, and how the different departments and emergency service providers would be notified, among other things. That being the case, you might also want to look into any legal risks that you might have if you implement an AED program. Once you have settled all of this, you can start working on getting your AED unit, or units as the case may be, and start rolling out the program. During your roll out, you would have to ensure that point persons are trained on how to handle the AEDs as well as what the policies and procedures are.
If you think you would need help coming up with a plausible program, you can get in touch with Citywide CPR. Citywide CPR offers a number of health-related services including AED program management.
