Dwight

As to the theft of AED's, they make cabinets to hold them that, when opened, sound an audible and visual warning, as well as placing a 911 call indicating that the AED has been accessed. I know this may not help figuring out who took it, but it certainly indicates that somebody took it. And the audio/visual alarm may be enough to scare off the would-be theft. There are several schools and other facilities in my area that have their AED's linked into 911 in this way.

Whenever a cabinet with an alarm likes this is opened in my area, it generates an Echo level 911 call, with PD, Fire, and EMS all dispatched for the potential cardiac arrest, the run card notates that is the cabinet that has been opened, no call yet to confirm. Another cost, I know, but maybe a deterrent to "misappropriation" of the devices?

I advocate elevator lobbies because they have maximum security, often video, and are public. After that it becomes a community character problem, which I have no alternative to as yet. An audible alarm is pretty effective, beyond that dial-out cellphone calls form another security layer.

Between these safeguards, and the eventual familiarity that AEDs will earn among these 'vertical communities', I think they'll be ignored like fire extinguishers, as a target of curiosity, in good time. But education must soak in first.

I also vote for AED availability and think it would be feasible. Real crux is, are you going to be providing or advocating community responder training in these buildings? If there's nobody around who knows what an AED is, let alone where to find it or a general gist of how to use it... I know they're designed to be idiot proof, but lack of confidence deters many from stepping in to help, especially in our lawsuit-happy society.

Wendy

CO EMT-B

When I have delivered AED PADs to customers I am always struck by the reverence they have, and express upon their arrival. They indicate their gratitude to me, but I am just the dashing installer dude. They are moved by this heart-partner sentinel now in their midst.

From there the AED makes its own friends - through awareness, discussion, and the Web. Nothing like keen amateurs.

Addendum to my previous post: In the project buildings, which are usually 6 to 13 stories high, sometimes they only have one elevator. Numerous times, the elevator can be out for months at a time.

While a nice idea to install an alarmed AED storage box by the elevator on the lobby, most times, there's nobody in the lobby to see or hear. Also, who is to say the thief lives in the building, let alone that particular project complex? No connection to whatever civic pride may be in existence in the tenant association.

Hi Richard;

I do agree that there are scenarios that are a little too exposed to be realistic for open cabinets. In the buildings you cite, there may be an apartment manager on site, and in that instance he/she might have a key to a locked enclosure, or be the keeper of the AED itself.

In the latter case, that building would lose much of the educational value of having a visible PAD, but at least it would be there. Hopefully it wouldn't add more than a minute to the response time. The people in such straits must take some responsibility as well - this is not a big money issue.

There are tens of millions of well-heeled people right across America right now, living and working in fancy tower buildings with much less protection than a grouchy old landlady can provide.

So it's not a problem just for the poor, it's an endemic failure to properly deploy a device we all have a right to access in a crisis.

My home area/Primary Area of Response has many public housing developments. It is my pessemistic view that the few evil folks there, who give everyone there a broadstroke bad name, would steal any AED so placed, as I have already seen where stolen standpipe fire hoses and fire extinguishers used to be, replaced, and stolen again.

First, my thanks to those who have replied so far, a real eye-opener onto a situation that I suspected was there but is largely unreported. So full of absurdities, like that 4 minute walk and the medical and longterm care buildings with no AED in them.

My mother was in an 'indepenedent living' facility and they were no allowed to even help her up if she fell down. Call 9-1-1? Ridiculous.

As for the theft threat cited above, I think that is a barrier that has to be acknowledged when deploying AEDs. If there's one on every second floor, etc. then the likelihood of theft and vandalism, misuse, unreliability - it's just too high. The meth guys will have a field day selling them for $20 down at the bar.

OTOH, one in the main elevator lobby, where there is much better security, often including video - I think we can hold that fort, and only one device is at stake. Add a good alarm, an enclosure that can dial out to cellphones, that should keep things under control. Also, the residents walking by it every day, discussing it while awaiting the elevator, that would generate a lot of awareness, education, ownership as stakeholders, in an amenity for their personal safety like no others. Lobbies also standard the their location and could build a 1:1 association in the public's mind as where these things are in a crisis - which is needed.

Personally I think that retrieving one in four minutes by elevator is do-able, in my tests it works 90% of the time. With 2 stage elevators you'd need one at each landing, of course.

My own company has applied to place them in the Fire Code beginning 2013, for high rises, and if that passes I think the AED promise will largely be met for big buildings. It's going to be interesting seeing who opposes them.

I'm an AED consultant trying to get a handle on whether EMS can fairly be expected to reach an arrest pt in a high rise, inside the best-before time of 4 minutes.

If not, I see a PAD in the lobby as a way to take some hurry heat off of vehicluar EMS.

What can you tell me of SCA's in towers, etc. ?

Catch and release? Accidentally roll the gurney?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOAqkDRQqFg

Dwight

Hey guys, is anyone here using Firehouse Mobile ePCR? If so were you involved in the implimentation of it at your agency? What would you have done diffrent from the start? Suggestions or reccomendations? Thanks.

How would it compare to Physio-Control's LifeNet?

I note that they opened one more chain in the link with Airstrip technologies.

Time is gold in this business, and the best architecture might be a straight time-line.?