Partnership Brings AEDs To Santa Clara County Schools

SANTA CLARA VALLEY, CA — A group of middle school students in Cupertino on Tuesday learned how to operate an important tool they hope they'll never have to use: an automated external defibrillator, or an AED. Around 100 students from Lawson Middle School, located at 10401 Vista Drive, gathered in the school's gym to hear a presentation from the nonprofit group Racing Hearts on the importance of life-saving devices such as AEDs.

The Palo Alto-based organization that specializes in raising awareness for AEDs.

Also in attendance were county officials and supervisors Cindy Chavez and Mike Wasserman, and California state Sen. Jerry Hill.

Chavez led the students in a pledge to save lives before they participated in the learning exercise.

Students were able to utilize a dummy to practice using an AED. Two students at a time teamed up to work the pumps required for CPR and to simulate how to send a shock from an AED to the person's heart.

Wasserman told students, "You never know when someone will need an AED — a shock to stay alive."

The addition of the AEDs is part of the county's partnership with Racing Hearts to place and install defibrillators in high-risk community locations, county officials said.

Wasserman said the county plans to have defibrillators in every public school in the county by June 2018, something that he said will give the county the distinction of being the first in the state to do that.

County officials said the plan is to have 660 AEDs installed in 553 locations across the county.

El Camino Hospital cardiologist Dr. Frederick St. Goar explained to students how sudden cardiac arrest happens and what occurs in the heart and body when it strikes.

He said one in 83 schools in the United States will have someone experience a sudden cardiac death this year.

Students Kathleen Hua and Keerthana Anand, both 13 years old and from Cupertino, appreciated the experience.

Hua said it was her first time learning the life-saving skill.

"If I hadn't done this activity before, and if somebody collapsed and I had to help them, I would probably endanger their life more than help them," she said. "And since we've done this today, I'll probably be able to
actually help and make a difference."

Anand also enjoyed the hands-on learning experience and now had confidence in her ability to help someone suffering from a cardiac arrest.

"I thought it was really nice to learn how to save a life and I could make a difference to someone," she said.

Racing Hearts founder Stephanie Martinson told students about her experience with sudden cardiac arrest when she was in her 20s climbing Half Dome in Yosemite National Park.

Martinson didn't remember the exact details of the incident, but told students she lost consciousness somewhere on the mountain, randomly woke up and kept climbing up.

"When you're 23, you think you're invincible," she said.

She said she visited the doctor after her hiking trip and underwent tests that determined she had suffered a sudden cardiac arrest. She now has a defibrillator implanted in her heart.

The funding for the project stems from the board allocating cash from tax measure funding and the EMS Trust Fund — $250,000 from each — to establish a $500,000 matching fund to purchase the AEDs.

By Bay City News Service

Photos courtesy Racing Hearts