AEDs: The Essential Piece to Saving Lives in the Workplace

We never know when a loved one, co-worker, or stranger may collapse due to a heart condition such as Sudden Cardiac Arrest, but we can be prepared. When SCA occurs you only have 3 to 5 precious minutes to respond. Is your workplace, school, facility, or building ready to respond to these emergencies when they happen? According to the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association, the response time from the minute you call to the emergency services to the time they actually are able to reach the victim is no less than 8 minutes. This includes discovery, time to call 911, call processing time, activation time, response time, and time from vehicle to the patient. Physical brain death can occur within 4–6 minutes after an SCA event. When you add all that up, it makes a great case for providing AEDs in the workplace.

FlexPAC wants to help you by providing life-saving equipment and training to help give you the best chance to save a life or respond to a life-altering event. Whether you choose to lease or purchase the right equipment, your FlexPAC Solutions Provider can help.

FlexPAC has partnered with Zoll AED to offer the very best automated external defibrillator (AED) to help you respond when the need arises. With recent advances in technology, automated external defibrillators (AEDs) are now widely available, safe, effective, portable, and easy to use. They provide the critical and necessary treatment for sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). All worksites are potential candidates for AED programs because of the possibility of SCA and the need for timely defibrillation.

In conjunction with purchasing an AED, FlexPAC also is now offering FlexAID First Aid kits, providing a world-class combination to help your facility or location meet ANSI (American National Standards Institute) requirements.

Remember…Zoll AED’s are the only AED to provide Real CPR Help®:c

• Not pushing hard enough on the victim? The AED Plus® will tell you when to push harder.
• Pushing just hard enough on their chest? It will say, “Good compressions.”
• Not pushing on the victim fast enough? A metronome will lead you to the right rate.
• It will even show you the depth of each compression—in real time.
• Not yet started on compressions? The AED Plus will tell you to get started.
• Compressions stopped? It will tell you to continue.

FlexPAC also offers full-service first aid and CPR training in certain markets, so please let us know if you have an interest in this potentially life-saving training.

AED Myths vs. Fact

Myth: Sudden Cardiac Arrest is very uncommon.

Fact: The American Heart Association states that around 326,000 people a year experience SCA. Approximately 10% of those victims survive.

Myth: Going into cardiac arrest or a heart attack is the same thing as a Sudden Cardiac Arrest.

Fact: Heart attacks are caused by blocked arteries, but SCA is caused by abnormal rhythms in the heart.

Myth: AEDs are too expensive to buy and maintain.

Fact: AED prices have actually dropped in the last decade. By looking at the price year over year, a typical AED, over the typical ten years of ownership, range from around $130–$300 per year to own. Breaking that down even further, that equates to $11 to $25 per month. Just a quick comparison… It’s less than the majority of people spend at their coffee shop over a week.

Myth: AEDs are incredibly complex and hard to use and they can only be used by a professional.

Fact: Any employee can use an AED. The units FlexPAC carries have many automated features that make using it very simple. Most of our units have a voice-guided system and pictures that walk users through the steps. Training does speed up the administering process when an AED is required.

Myth: Using an AED has a significant legal risk.

Fact: The Cardiac Arrest Survival Act was signed into law in November of 2000. One of its requirements gives nationwide “Good Samaritan” protection for anyone who provides emergency treatment with an AED in an effort to save someone’s life. The Cardiac Arrest Survival Act also covers the owner of the AED.

Myth: AED’s could accidentally shock the victim.

Fact: AED’s use a specific set of software to determine the victim’s heart rhythm and make the judgment on if a shock is required. Shocks are only delivered if an SCA event has been detected.

Myth: AED’s can only be used once.

Fact: All of FlexPAC’s AED’s can deliver up to hundreds of shocks in during their life. However, the pads and the batteries must be maintained and replaced to ensure it works properly.

Take the mystery out of AED’s and they become a whole lot more approachable. Providing AEDs for your workforce, encouraging their use, and following your emergency preparedness plans can have a profound impact on someone’s life sooner rather than later. Anyone can use them, even if they haven’t had the training, as the AED gives voice prompts to guide one through each potential life-saving critical step.

Let’s take action to save a life.

FlexPAC Cares about Saving Lives and Preventing Injuries anywhere potential cardiac emergencies may occur – workplaces, schools, public buildings.

Contact your Solutions Provider or hit the Contact Us button today to purchase a Zoll AED and a FlexAID First Aid Kit or to have a demonstration of the unit. For each kit bought together, FlexPAC will donate a portion of the funds to the American Heart Association!