Be Prepared
The key, says Hazinski, isfor a school to always have a plan to handle medical emergencies -including the use of an AED - and all staff and students should receiveregular training.
"If they practice, everyoneis able to respond and that will give the victim the best outcome," shetold the AP. "It has to be a coordinated and practiced response plan -it does nobody any good if someone donates an [AED] to a school andit's locked in a cabinet."
Since Ryan's death, hishigh school has bought three more AEDs and trained more than a third ofthe school's 140 staff members. Principal Tim Duncan says the school isprobably now more prepared than any in the country.
Father Left To Wonder
Although Ryan's father,Chris, told the Telegraph he harbored no ill feelings toward theschool, he still wonders if Ryan could have been saved had the AED beenused.
"In my opinion, it wouldhave removed the one element of doubt we still live with," he said. "Wejust don't know if a defibrillator used [earlier] would have saved him,and I guess we'll never know that."
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