By EMS1 Staff
GREAT BEND, Kan. — An umpire’s death during a baseball game caused a school district to purchase AEDs, according to officials.
KWCH reported that Great Bend Board of Education decided to invest $8,000 in AEDs after umpire Eric Shannon died during a baseball game. Shannon was umpiring the game when he had a heart attack and collapsed in the dugout.
Students and parents performed CPR, but Great Bend Board of Education President Chris Umphres said the district is taking more precautions.
“They were obviously heroes; they went out and gave the CPR and some of that but an AED probably would have saved his life,” Umphres said.
The district said Ryan Zink, a sports medicine teacher at Great Bend High School, will give AEDs to coaches during practices and games, and the coaches will be trained to operate the machines.