Medical emergencies may occur at any time and without warning. AEDs are strategically installed in university buildings to be used during cardiac emergencies. University Police can coordinate the response efforts of fire and ambulance emergency services.
What do I do if there is a medical emergency occurring or if one has occurred?
- Call University Police
- University Police will notify the local fire and/or ambulance service
- Provide your name, location, number of people injured, and description of the medical emergency
- Stay on the phone for instructions of what to do
- Stay calm and keep the patient calm as well.
- Locate and obtain an AED/First Responder Kit and use accordingly
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
Check the scene and the person. Make sure the scene is safe, then tap the person on the shoulder and shout “Are you OK?” to ensure that the person needs help.
Call the University Police for assistance. If it’s evident that the person needs help, call (or ask a bystander to call.) Then send someone to get an AED. (If an AED is unavailable, or there is no bystander to access it, stay with the victim, call for help and begin administering assistance.)
Open the airway. With the person lying on his or her back, tilt the head back slightly to lift the chin.
Check for breathing, listen carefully, for no more than 10 seconds, for sounds of breathing, (Occasional gasping sound does not equate to breathing.) If there is no breathing, begin CPR.
CPR Steps
Push hard, push fast. Place your hands, one on top of the other, in the middle of the chest. Use your body weight to help you administer compressions that are at least 2 inches deep and delivered at a rate of at least 100 compressions per minute.
Deliver rescue breaths. With the person’s head tilted back slightly and the chin lifted, pinch the nose shut and place your mouth over the person’s mouth to make a complete seal. Blow into the person’s mouth to make the chest rise. Deliver two rescue breaths, then continue compressions.
Continue the CPR steps. Keep performing cycles of chest compressions and breathing until the person exhibits signs of life, such as breathing, an AED becomes available, or EMS or a trained medical responder arrives on scene.
American Red Cross AED Use Steps
Automated external defibrillators can help save lives during sudden cardiac arrest. However, even after training, remembering the steps to use an AED in the right way can be difficult. These AED steps should be used when caring for a non-breathing child aged 8 or older who weighs more than 55 pounds, or an adult. After checking the scene and ensuring that the person needs help, you should ask a bystander to call for help, then:
- Turn on the AED and follow the visual and/or audio prompts.
- Open the person’s shirt and wipe his or her bare chest dry. If the person is wearing any medication patches, you should use a gloved (if possible) hand to remove the patches before wiping the person’s chest.
- Attach the AED pads, and plug in the connector (if necessary)
- Make sure no one is, including you, is touching the person. Tell everyone to “stand clear”
- Push the “analyze” button (if necessary) and allow the AED to analyze the person’s heart rhythm
- If the AED recommends that you deliver a shock to the person, make sure that no one, including you, is touching the person- and telling everyone to “stand clear”. Once clear, press the “shock” button.
- Begin CPR after delivering the shock. Or, if no shock is advised, begin CPR. Perform 2 minutes (about 5 cycles) of CPR and continue to follow AED’s prompts. If you notice obvious signs of life, discontinue CPR and monitor breathing for any changes in condition.