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Sarasota School District Waiting To Add AEDs

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By KIM HACKETT

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Published: September 30, 2008

SARASOTA - Despite pressure from some parents, the Sarasota County School District is sticking with its plan to let a committee determine when to deliver lifesaving equipment to the schools.

The district purchased 62 automatic external defibrillators in June for all schools to have in an emergency. They have been stored in a warehouse until the district schedules training and decides where to install them. No date has been set.

Parents and advocates for children with heart problems have been urging the district to get the easy-to-use equipment into schools. About two dozen parents have called schools or the district offices to express their concern.

But a district spokesman said health department officials reassured school officials that the risk of a child collapsing because of a heart problem is low. High school athletic programs have AEDs at sporting events, but the rest of the schools do not have them.

"Our medical people have put it in perspective," spokesman Gary Leatherman said. "We're still in the process of working with the committee."

Parents with children who have heart problems said the district is minimizing the risk. Heart screenings of children have found that about 4 percent have an abnormal heart rhythm that could lead to sudden cardiac arrest - the No. 1 killer of children on school property.

The AEDs are easy to use, with voice prompts and an automatic charge that only deploys when the machine detects an irregular heart rhythm. State law removes liability for people who attempt to revive someone.

"There's really no reason for stalling on this at all," said Kathleen Rhem, a Sarasota parent with children at Phillippi Shores Elementary and Out of Door Academy. "If one child could possibly be saved, it would be worth the effort."

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