New portable AEDs now available throughout public areas
Sudden cardiac arrest is the most time-sensitive of all diseases; for every minute without treatment, a person’s chance of survival decreases by 10 percent. It kills over 300,000 Americans each year.
According to Benjamin Abella, MD, MPhil, clinical research director at Penn’s Center for Resuscitation Science, immediate use of an AED (automatic external defibrillator) can triple the chance of survival, but finding one close by – even in a hospital – is not always easy. The sudden cardiac arrest last summer of George Hettenbach, HUP’s Safety manager, as he was walking to his office on 1 Maloney, brought this fact to light.
George Hettenbach (c) knows firsthand that AEDs save lives. With him are Heather Ross and Ben Abella, who together led the initiative to bring portable AEDs to key locations throughout the hospital.
“The Rapid Response team was able to save him because someone knew where to find a defibrillator,” Abella said, “but it made us realize that we had an Achilles heel. We have defibrillators in the emergency room and other clinical areas but they weren’t readily available in public or employee areas of the hospital.”
Abella worked with members of HUP’s Clinical Emergencies Committee, which he co-chairs with Heather Ross, RN, BSN, Nursing Clinical Coordinator of Rapid Response, to identify key areas within HUP for portable AEDs. “We based it on foot-traffic patterns and distance from clinical areas, choosing such locations as the lobby and cafeteria,” he said. New AEDs are now installed throughout the hospital (See sidebar for locations).
Taking the Luck Out of Survival
The AED, which delivers an electrical charge to restart the heart, can help people but does no harm. “It is a ‘smart” machine,” Abella said. “It will only send a shock if it detects a cardiac arrest rhythm. If applied to a person with a pulse, it will not discharge. It has a very simple design and is very safe. They are designed for anyone to use.”
Now that the AEDs are in place, Abella is partnering with Joe Forte, head of HUP Security. HUP guards will be responsible for bringing the nearest AED to where the person has collapsed. “That was one of our challenges – getting the AED to the scene.”
The wall cabinets holding the AED are not locked but an alarm will go off when the AED is removed from the case “to alert people to an emergency.”
“This program is really honor of George. We want the next person to be equally lucky but we don’t want survival to be a matter of luck,” he said. “We want to take the ‘luck’ out of it.”
Putting AEDs Where They’re Needed Most
HUP has defibrillators in the emergency room and other clinical areas but, until recently, they were not available in the more public areas, such as the lobby and cafeteria. Now, thanks to the Clinical Emergencies Committee and senior leadership, HUP is more heart safe, with an AED in the following locations:
• HUP lobby, near main security desk
• Inpatient pharmacy in Silverstein basement
• Penn Tower Bridge, near security desk
• Ground Gates, near Spruce Street entrance
• 1 Maloney, near hair salon
• 7 Gates, near clinical lab areas
• 7 Founders, near clinical lab areas
