Michigan Schools AED Drill Weeks

November 10-14, 2008
February 2-6, 2009

MASA is joining the Kimberly Anne Gillary Foundation, the Michigan Chapter of the American Heart Association (AHA) and various Michigan School Associations to help promote Michigan Schools 2008-09 CPR/AED Drill Weeks. Schools who participated in last year’s event overwhelmingly found the drills to be educational and worthwhile exercises.

We encourage AED Coordinators to conduct Practice Drill(s) at your building(s) during this week to improve school safety, heighten AED Awareness, and help to save lives. An AED drill can be conducted before, during, or after school hours. In addition, it does not have to disrupt the whole school and should take no more than several minutes to complete. Drills also give administrators an opportunity to improve their program before an actual emergency arises. Participating CPR/AED instructors, Fire and EMS responders, and Local Hospital personnel may contact you to offer their assistance.

For help on conducting an AED practice drill visit www.aeddrill.com or contact the Kimberly Anne Gillary Foundation at 248.528.0440 (ecgillary@gillarylaw.com) or Aventric Technologies/HeartAED at 800.228.3343 (tperna@aventric.com), the originator of the event.

In 2004, the AHA Publication – The Emergency Response Plan for Schools, emphasized routine AED practice drills and evaluations. Considering the importance of fire drills, a situation anyone can relate to; the need for routine practice of rescuing a sudden cardiac arrest patient, a rare and complex situation, is a logical conclusion.

These events will also provide a great opportunity for school and community relations and serve as a benchmark for continued practice throughout the school year. Most importantly, an AED Drill improves the chances of saving the lives of students, staff members, and visitors who may suffer sudden cardiac arrest.  

According to the Michigan Department of Public Health, from 1999 through 2006, 185 Michigan children, age 5 to 19, have died from sudden cardiac arrest.  Studies have shown that early 911, early CPR, and early defibrillation and early advance life support can help save lives.

The Kimberly Anne Gillary Foundation was founded by Randy and Sue Gillary after the death of their 15 year old daughter, Kimberly, who suffered a cardiac arrest while participating in a water polo game on April 1, 2000. A 501(c)(3) charitable foundation, its mission is to place an automated external defibrillator ( AED ) in every Michigan high school and to advocate cardiac screening and testing of all high school student athletes. To date, the Foundation has donated over 400 AEDs. For more information on the Foundation visit their web site at www.kimberlysgift.org.