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Increasing the chances of surviving sudden cardiac arrest
An estimated 2,000 faculty and staff members are expected to be trained to operate AEDs on campus. Photo: NANCY J. PARISI
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“We are very excited that the program is expanding and we hope that it will save more lives in the future.”
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It’s called the chain of survival—a four-step intervention process used to assist victims of sudden cardiac arrest.
All links in the chain were in working order that day in September 2006 when UB police officers, led by Lt. David Urbanek, revived a man on the Amherst bike path suffering a cardiac episode.
The officers used CPR and an automated external defibrillator (AED) to restart the man’s heart. He regained his pulse, resumed breathing and was taken to Erie County Medical Center.
The man made a full recovery, Urbanek reports. “He’s loving life, living life,” the officer says, adding that he received a Christmas card from the man this past year.
Urbanek’s experience is not the only time an AED has been used at UB to save a life since the university first established a Public Access Defibrillation (PAD) program in 2002. Gary Wieczkowski Jr., associate professor in the Department of Restorative Dentistry, used an AED to resuscitate a patient who collapsed in the dental school clinic in 2004. School administrators describe the woman as being “clinically dead,” with no pulse or heartbeat.
Now, with the recent purchase of 450 AEDs, all buildings on UB’s three campuses have been equipped with the live-saving devices, further increasing the chances of survival for victims suffering from cardiac arrest while on campus.
“We are very excited that the program is expanding and we hope that it will save more lives in the future,” says Joseph T. Raab, director of the Department of Environment, Health and Safety and coordinator of the AED program.
UB began expanding its PAD program in 2005 when new regulations were put in place requiring AEDs to be installed in all state buildings and staff be trained to operate the devices, Raab notes.
The PAD expansion plan included a survey of all UB buildings to determine where AEDS were needed, he says, pointing out that all SUNY campuses have been provided with a single AED model to ensure consistency.
“Any existing AEDs at UB were replaced and upgraded to the new model,” he says. “We have now completed the process of installing all of the AEDs in UB buildings.” With the AEDs in place, UB now is focusing its attention on training. Raab says the university traditionally has trained more than 1,000 people annually, including students, in AED operation. “With the new requirements, we will be training even more people,” he says. “At minimum, we will have two trained operators for each AED on campus. We estimate that more than 2,000 faculty and staff will be trained on campus.”
Two levels of training have been established, Raab explains: awareness training and operator training. Awareness training is being handled through the Office of Organizational Development and Training in Human Resources, which recently developed a Web-based course to familiarize members of the university community with the purpose of the AEDs, how to obtain assistance and care for cardiac-arrest victims, and training requirements.
The operator-training course required for all AED operators in New York State is being offered by the CPR/AED Program Training Center run jointly by UB Athletics and Student Affairs. This training includes instruction in administering CPR and use of the AED. The training certification is valid for two years, at which time participants must retrain to refresh their skills.
Raab says that in the coming months the AED program will be coordinating with various campus departments to recruit additional volunteers for the operator training class. Faculty and staff who are part of this program will take “SUNY Lifesaver,” a SUNY-developed-and-certified course in CPR/AED operation. Those wishing to obtain training right away can take the American Heart Association course currently offered by the CPR/AED Program Training Center for a small fee.
Raab says he hopes that all members of the UB community will participate in the awareness training and he strongly urges faculty and staff to volunteer for the operator training.
“Given that these AED devices are becoming more prevalent in all types of public buildings, the knowledge and skills that you learn in the training classes will help you both in the workplace and beyond,” he says.
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