Page 57 - Occupational Health & Safety, June 2019

It is important that one person be in charge overall of an organization’s AED program. There should be one person who “owns” preparation and performance responsibilities.
ting SCA episodes will occur. And because these episodes are so geographically disbursed (e.g., a health club, shopping mall, of- fice, warehouse, manufacturing plant, school, place of worship, coffee shop, grocery store, etc.), SCA occurrence in any single location is incredibly rare, with an episode expected perhaps once every 10 to 40 years. This means that, in a world with tens of thousands more AED programs, each AED program site must remain prepared for SCA emergencies that may happen at any time over long periods of time.
With this background in mind, here are some AED program design elements and policy examples (not an exhaustive list) that can help prepare an organization for long-term success.
■ Identify key characteristics of each AED program site: An organization’s physical, operational, and personnel profile drives many AED program design and policy decisions. Characteristics include things such as the number of sites and buildings and their size (horizontally and vertically), physical factors that can impede movement (stairs, doors, elevators, etc.), the number of daily em- ployees and visitors, and staff turnover rates, among others.
important that one person be in charge overall of an organization’s AED program. Certain administrative (e.g., fulfill regulatory re- quirements, document policies, etc.) and operational (e.g., train- ing, equipment purchasing, etc.) tasks can be delegated, but there should be one person who “owns” preparation and performance responsibilities.
■ Establish a reasonable AED response time objective: “AED response time” is the total time between SCA recognition and AED use. An organization’s AED response time policy sets a goal for how quickly AED use is expected to happen and guides how many AEDs are needed to meet the goal. A response time goal of five minutes or less is recommended to avoid the three-minute response time trap,7 and a written policy documenting this objec- tive is critical for risk management purposes. Few organizations create a written response time policy, which opens the door for plaintiffs’ lawyers to argue in negligence lawsuits for a shorter, unfair standard.
■ Define AED response areas and AED placement locations: Given the relationship between the time to defibrillation and the chances of SCA survival, an AED can cover a limited area. The size of the area is impacted by the organization’s physical char- acteristics and response time objective. Specific areas covered by each AED, including its precise placement location, should be documented in AED program policies.
■ Establish the AED response squad: This is a complicated is- sue, muddied by confusion over the role formal CPR/AED train-
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Assign people to administrative and operational roles: It is Experience the
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