‘Critical’ equipment: Fredonia schools purchase 10 defibrillators
AP photo This defibrillator device was chosen for use during the 120th Boston Marathon.
OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Fredonia Superintendent Brad Zilliox highlighted the district’s need to be better prepared for an emergency, as the district recently purchased 10 additional AED machines.
AP photo This defibrillator device was chosen for use during the 120th Boston Marathon.
OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Fredonia Superintendent Brad Zilliox highlighted the district’s need to be better prepared for an emergency, as the district recently purchased 10 additional AED machines.
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In the wake of the Damar Hamlin incident in January, many local schools were forced to reevaluate how prepared they are for an emergency at one of their own sporting events.
Fredonia Central School was among the schools to receive a lot of feedback from the community about how prepared it is for such an incident. At a recent Board of Education meeting, the district took a step in the right direction toward making the school's teams safer.
Fredonia approved the purchase of 10 automated external defibrillator (AED) machines at a cost not to exceed $18,000. The total of portable AED machines in the district after the purchase now sits at 12, which equals the maximum number of sports teams the district has at any point in the year.
"Each year, things come up when situations occur. These conversations are part of what we do at the district office and through the business office all year long," said Superintendent Brad Zilliox. "Out of the things that have come recently, one struck us as a governance team around health, safety and wellness."
Zilliox highlighted how challenging it would be to get an AED quickly to the site of an emergency during any contest, practice, or event taking place outdoors, on school grounds or at other locations, as a focal point of the decision to purchase more AED machines.
Zilliox stated, "We really just started thinking, 'Anywhere our sports teams and our athletic programs are, do they have the equipment that potentially maximizes the ability to save someone's life?'"
The district previously had two portable AED machines that traveled with teams when they were not near the AEDs throughout the school buildings. But with multiple sports teams practicing or competing outdoors in the field behind the school, or at other locations such as the Orange Bowl or the Chestnut Street fields, the district felt a clear need to be more prepared for an emergency.
"I would just like to reiterate how grateful we are that this issue was brought to us," said Board of Education member Lisa Powell Fortna. "We do definitely appreciate the public raising issues to us, so we can have a conversation and prioritize something that we think is this critical."