Heart & Vascular Health

Helping our schools save lives
Akron General to administer AED funding for Ohio schools

Akron General Medical Center has been named the administering organization for $2.5 million in State of Ohio tobacco settlement monies to fund the placement of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in the 5,000 schools in Ohio.

Each day in the United States, more than 1,200 people die from cardiac arrest before they can reach a hospital. Ventricular fibrillation (VF) is the most common arrhythmia that causes cardiac arrest. VF is a condition in which the heart’s electrical impulses suddenly become chaotic, causing the heart’s pumping to abruptly stop. Death follows within minutes. Defibrillation is the only treatment for VF. This technique of giving an electrical shock can restore the heart’s normal rhythm if it is done within minutes of the cardiac arrest. AEDs have made it possible for trained, as well as untrained, lay rescuers to deliver life-saving defibrillation shock to cardiac arrest victims.

“Akron General has been instrumental in the effort to place AEDs in our local schools, and will now focus on expanding this vital effort to the state level,” explains Akron General Development Foundation President Jon Trainor. “Through the passion and leadership of cardiologist Terry Gordon, DO, and support from numerous community organizations and private donors, every junior high and high school in Summit County has an AED. This was the first comprehensive effort of its kind in the nation for a county this size, and Dr. Gordon’s efforts on the state level helped secure the funding for AEDs in schools across Ohio.”

While the initial $2.5 million in state funds is a strong start, it will cover the needs of only about 40 percent of Ohio’s schools. More is needed to fully implement the project.

For more information on applying for an AED for a school, or to support this vital effort, contact the Akron General Development Foundation at 330-344-6888 or visit www.akrongeneral.org, and mouseover “Ways to Support.”