Raleigh County School Health Services

Raleigh County School Health Services

Automated External Defibrillator Program

An Automated External Defibrillator (AED) is a device used to treat a victim with cardiac arrest whose heart is beating irregularly (fibrillating) by assessing the victim’s heart rhythm, judging whether defibrillation is needed, and then administering a shock to return the heart to normal. These procedural guidelines address AEDs in the schools and at work locations.

The Raleigh County Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Program adheres to the legislative requirements set forth by the State of West Virginia for AED program implementation. The purpose of this program is to enable individuals, through the use of AED devices, to intervene promptly in the case of a Sudden Cardiac Arrest with technology that may help sustain an individual’s life until trained EMS personnel arrive on the scene. However, given the fact that the primary mission of the school system is educational and not medical, the school system does not purport to imply that AEDs and/or trained personnel will be available in all medical emergencies that might occur on school property. The first action taken by a responder in any medical emergency will be to contact Raleigh County Emergency Medical Services (911).

Raleigh County Board of Education will provide an AED to be available at all work locations for students, employees, and visitors. The School Nurse Coordinator shall serve as the AED Coordinator. Any additional AEDs that may be acquired by the school must first be reviewed by the AED Coordinator to insure uniformity in the quality of AEDs. These additional AEDs shall immediately be registered with the AED Coordinator and shall adhere to all requirements of the AED program. In order to protect the security and proper use of AEDs, the school/work locations will ensure access to AEDs during regular school hours when classes are in session. AEDs at after hour events may be utilized, but is not required by these guidelines because the school system cannot guarantee that an AED and/or responder will be present for the duration of every event.

As required by West Virginia Code 16-4c, a medical director will be utilized to provide medical oversight for the AED program. The medical director will be provided through an affiliation agreement between the Board of Education and RaleighGeneralHospital. The medical director will communicate and work with the AED Coordinator. The AED Coordinator or designee will be responsible for the AED program implementation, training requirement, and maintenance of all AEDs and supplies.

The Board of Education encourages all employees to receive and maintain CPR/AED certification. Therefore, CPR/AED training will be made available to all Raleigh County Board of Education employees and students on an ongoing basis. The extent to which these individuals respond shall be appropriate to their training and/or experience. In some instances the responder may or may not possess current CPR/AED certification. Any individual utilizing an AED is provided civil immunity according to WV Code 16-4D-4.

In the event of an emergency, the responder to the crisis situation will follow accepted procedures of emergency response by assessing scene safety, assessing unresponsiveness, activating the EMS system by dialing 911, sending for the AED if it is not at the scene already and performing CPR until it arrives, then following all the voice prompts for the AED. When EMS arrives all information about the patient will be transferred to the EMS personnel.

After each use of the AED, the AED Coordinator and the Medical Director shall conduct an incident debriefing with the responders to determine any opportunities for improvement.