Submitted by SCAFoundation on Mon, 03/30/2009 - 12:16pm

In May 2008, around 270 teachers, coaches and nurses in the Escambia County school district, Pensacola, Florida, learnt how to use AEDs.
That training has since paid off.
Just before Christmas, a local school’s band director suffered sudden cardiac arrest while running at school. Someone nearby ran to get the school nurse. The nurse had attended one of those Baptist LifeFlight Outreach Education training classes the previous spring. She immediately applied her training using the AED to resuscitate the teacher. Soon after, emergency medical service transported the teacher to the hospital where he had emergency open heart surgery and recovered fully.
“Saving this life is a direct result of the training we had the privilege of providing our community,” said Patty Trent, training coordinator, Baptist LifeFlight Outreach Education. “This is what community service is all about.”
The Escambia County School Board plans to develop an internal training video using this teacher as an example emphasizing the importance of trained AED users in schools.
“Having our outreach education pay off by saving a life is the best Christmas present anyone could possibly receive or give,” said Trent.