By Mindy Kinnaman, The Kansas City Star (Missouri)
If their hearts stop, Blue Springs residents no longer will have to wait for an ambulance or fire truck to receive the medical attention they need.
All city police cruisers were outfitted with automatic external defibrillators earlier this month.
The AED machines allow trained police officers to administer treatment to someone suffering from sudden cardiac arrest. The small, lightweight machine detects the heart’s rhythm to determine whether a shock must be given.
“The machine is very basic,” Capt. Robert Morton said. “It’s so simple to operate, it’s unbelievable. More of the training goes toward the CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) because the machine tells you what to do. It walks you through all of the steps.”
Statistics from the American Heart Association show that, for those suffering from sudden cardiac arrest, treatment with a defibrillator must occur within one to four minutes for the patient to have the best chance of survival. Because police officers tend to be the first to respond to emergencies, the machine gives them the opportunity to help.
“I think you see that being out on the street in our cars, we frequently are the first to respond to situations where life-saving actions are necessary,” Chief Wayne McCoy said. “Even a few seconds can mean the difference between life and death.”
Before officers can use the equipment, they must be trained. To date, 36 employees have completed training. American Heartsaver offers the officers CPR and AED training.
Each officer must complete a four-hour course to learn how to operate an AED on adults. After the first of next year, American Heartsaver will train employees how to use the equipment on children and infants.
“I don’t think we’ll have that much of a problem,” Morton said “We’re nearing having half of our employees trained. We didn’t want to drag this out for a long time. The goal is to have all trained by the end of November.”