State leaders champion lifesaving work of Red Cross, AEDs, CPR

PROVIDENCE – “A little over two years ago, I died,” recounted Owen West, at a Nov. 21 press conference celebrating the enactment of a law in Rhode Island requiring every private and public middle school and high school to have an automated external defibrillator, a portable device that can send an electric shock to restart a heart. Then a high school freshman in Canton, Conn., West was, in the end, fortunate. When he suffered cardiac arrest (due to a previously undiagnosed heart condition) in his high school cafeteria, a cafeteria worker trained as an emergency medical technician used an AED and a school nurse performed CPR.

“I had no long-term brain damage,” West told a small group of people who gathered to hear his story and celebrate the centennial anniversary of the American Red Cross. “CPR is what keeps you alive until the AED gets there,” he said. Before introducing Gov. Gina M. Raimondo, West thanked the American Red Cross for its focus on the need for AEDs in public venues and for training in their use. As a Red Cross Ambassador, he continues to promote AEDs and CPR.

Raimondo expressed pride that Rhode Island has taken a step that values the safety of its school children, and lauded the General Assembly, which she called her partners in this effort. Noting that each lifesaving AED is a modest investment – between $800 and $1,000 – she recognized State Sen. Cynthia Coyne, D-Barrington, and Sen. Majority Leader Dominick Ruggerio, D-Providence, the legislation’s sponsors in the Senate. Rep. Jan Malik, D-Barrington, sponsored the legislation in the House.

Every year, 335,000 Americans suffer a cardiac arrest and more than 95 percent of them die before reaching a hospital, Raimondo said. In Rhode Island, some 1,000 people are expected to die of cardiac arrest this year, but the chances of surviving are far better with an AED. “These new [AED] machines are relatively easy to use; they talk you through it,” she said. “You don’t need to be a doctor or a nurse to use them.”

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Although the new law, effective Aug. 1, 2016, mandates that AEDs are in all schools in Rhode Island at all times and available at school-sponsored athletic events, there is no state funding to purchase them. Asked by Providence Business News how the low-income school districts would purchase them, Ruggerio said, “Schools can find money in grants … there are mechanisms to acquire the AEDs that don’t affect school budgets. That’s my understanding.” Noting that many schools already have AEDs on site, he suggested schools needing help contact the American Red Cross for information and guidance about purchasing an AED.

The event was held at the law offices of Pannone Lopes Devereaux & West, where West’s father, Teno A. West, is a principal, in Providence.

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