Automatic defibrillators being installed campus-wide

Automatic external defibrillators, like the one installed in a building above, save lives.

SUNY Fredonia has begun installing automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) in its public buildings, and will have them in all buildings campus-wide within three years. “This is part of a safety initiative launched by the State University of New York,” President Dennis L. Hefner said.

The devices help victims suffering from cardiac arrhythmia by applying an electric shock to the heart muscle. The shock normally will restore a person’s heartbeat to a normal rhythm. Defibrillation is considered the definitive treatment for a person in cardiac arrest, and the sooner the defibrillation is enabled, the better. To hasten the speed of response, AEDs were introduced as an alternative to the standard manual defibrillators equipped in ambulances and hospitals.

AEDs are designed especially to be used by the average person who has had some training.  Three members of the SUNY Fredonia staff will begin offering the SUNY Lifesaver Course this summer to volunteers from campus community (students, staff, and faculty), teaching them how to activate the local emergency response system, perform rescue-breathing by mouth to mouth and mouth to mask, apply cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to both children and adults, and use an AED.

The training is designed around the latest educational and clinical science in the field of emergency cardiac care and is consistent with the new guidelines of the American Heart Association. The course was developed especially by Stony Brook Professor Ed Stapleton, a leader in the field of emergency cardiac care.

Members of the campus community who are interested in becoming trained should contact either of the three trainers: Michael Wygant (Maintenance Supervisor), University Police Officer Benjamin Miller, or Kathy Forster (Associate Director of Residence Life).

New York State is providing the AEDs to all SUNY campuses, President Hefner said. While a small number of AEDs have already been on hand in specified areas – such as in Steele Hall, the Health Services Center, and in University Police cars, New York State legislation now requires public facilities to have an AED available within several minutes from any location.

“AEDs are not new to the campus,” University Police Chief Ann Burns said. “We’ve had them for about seven years. The Beaver Club donated three of them to SUNY Fredonia  in 2001.”