By Rebecca Kenyon
Buffalo State College students will soon see Automated External Defibrillators all over campus, but they are not toys so don’t try to use them unless you have to.
Kim Jablonski, medical program coordinator of Weigel Health Center, said that BSC will be required to have an AED within three minutes of any place any person can be on campus beginning April 2006.
“We already carry them, and the department is trained in CPR and AED response,” said Michael Hooley, university police patrolmen.
An AED is used todeliver an electrical shock to an individual experiencing cardiac arrest.
“They will be in cases on the wall. The idea is that there is supposed to be an electronic device so when they come off the wall, University Police will know. There are two reasons for this,” Jablonski said. “One is that they are expensive, so if somebody is stealing, the University Police will know right away. The other side is that if there is an emergency, police will be alerted and they will be on their way.”
According to the American Red Cross, 250,000 people died from cardiac arrest last year. The Red Cross said these numbers could have been reduced significantly if more people knew the “cardiac chain of survival” and how to use an AED.
Weigel will work as a training center with the American Heart Association to show students, faculty and staff what to do if someone on campus goes into cardiac arrest.
The following classes will be offered at Weigel throughout the fall semester:
11 a.m. -3 p.m. Wednesdays / 3-7 p.m. Thursdays
9 a.m.-1 p.m. 3rd Saturday of each month starting in October
Jablonski said the classes will show students how to perform skills on children and infants as well as adults.
“The way this class is set up, you walk away and you really have a level of confidence about what you are doing,” Jablonski said.
Classes are free to students, faculty and staff; they are $50 for anyone else. After completion of the course, the student will be certified for two years. For more information contact Kim Jablonski or Maria Incorvaia at (716)878-6711 or (716)878-3786 or email Jablonkm@buffalostate.edu.
Rebecca Kenyon can be contacted at usiarm65@mail.buffalostate.edu
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