AED Site Assessment: Importance For Response Times
An AED site assessment provides a rational process for determining the optimal quantity and placement locations of AEDs required to provide a timely response to a sudden cardiac arrest. Health emergencies often happen in the workplace, and making sure your workplace and employees are prepared, is important.
In the event of a heart attack, The American Heart Association recommends defibrillations within 3-5 minutes; ideally in less than 3 minutes. Every additional minute lowers the rate of successful resuscitation by 7-10 percent! To achieve a good response time, our AED site assessment determines if there are enough AEDs in the right places, a clear communications pipeline, and enough people trained to respond quickly.
In order to minimize response time, your workplace should have enough trained responders to increase the likelihood that one will be near an AED location and able to “grab and go”. For example, this could mean a continually staffed security station. Strategic placement of additional devices minimizing the distance that fewer responders would travel to get the AED is also important and cuts down on response time as well.
Part of an AED site assessment pays special attention to areas where large numbers of people visit, work, or assemble, such as cafeterias, auditoriums, gymnasiums, sports facilities, shop floors, and offices. Other locations of concern are high-traffic areas such as hallways near restrooms, reception areas, and main entrances. Other considerations for AED placement include locations that make it hard for emergency medical system teams to reach, such as deep inside a facility, high in a tall building, or inside secure or remote locations.
An AED site assessment will considering making sure AEDs are highly visible, such as in wall-mount brackets or glass cabinets on building walls in general view (similar to fire extinguishers). They can be placed near responders in security vehicles or at a security or first aid station. They will also need to be located close to where the largest number of people spend their time and tied into your communications system, and must be protected from tampering, theft, or damage.
Sometimes AED site placement can seem daunting and overwhelming, however, having an AED site assessment performed by Kansas City First Aid makes the process easier. We are able to come in and determine all the logistics for you, to make sure your workplace is ready in the event of a medical emergency.
If you are in the Kansas City Metro Area including Johnson County, KS and Jackson County, MO and are interested in AED placement and training, contact us today to schedule your AED site assessment, and feel free to call us at (913) 980-5245 with any questions you have about creating an AED program for your business.