By Shaun Bishop Daily News Staff Writer
A 9-foot-high post near the bleachers of Sequoia High School’s track and football field soon will make life a little safer for athletes who play there.
Complete with a video camera and a direct connection to 911 dispatchers, the post contains an automatic external defibrillator, or AED, that is set to be activated next week to respond to cardiac emergencies.
Officials with the Sequoia Healthcare District, which bought the $11,000 device for the school, say Sequoia is the first high school in California given a defibrillator with such advanced communication features.
While the school already has seven other automatic external defibrillators, none has the new one’s ability to call emergency dispatchers with the push of a button.
Dispatchers also will be able to view a video feed of the scene using the device, which is manufactured by Michigan-based Code Blue and will be featured in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday.
“We just thought that having both the AED available plus the immediate line to 911 really makes medical assistance a lot faster,” said Don Horsley, a member of the health care district’s board, “and if it is a sudden cardiac arrest, then the best way to save a life is really with an AED.”
Installation of the device came as part of the health care district’s HeartSafe program, which has placed more than 250 defibrillators in police cars, community centers, schools and other public buildings.
The devices allow bystanders to deliver an electric shock to restore the heart rhythm of a person in cardiac arrest.
The new device’s direct connection to the Redwood City Fire Department’s dispatch center will summon help even faster than if someone calls 911 with a cell phone, potentially cutting minutes off response times, Horsley said.
The brain and organs begin to die four to six minutes after someone experiences cardiac arrest, according to the American Heart Association, so every second counts.
The remote dispatcher will be able to open a door to allow access to the defibrillator and can activate a blue beacon on top of the device.
Officials say defibrillators have already helped save at least three lives on campuses in the Sequoia Union High School District. Horsley said a security guard successfully used one on a man who was exercising on Sequoia’s field about a year ago and went into cardiac arrest.
The district considered installing the device at Courthouse Square in downtown Redwood City, Horsely said, but it decided the high school field is used by more people throughout the year.
The district may buy similar devices for other high school campuses in the area, including Menlo-Atherton and Woodside, Horsley said.
District Superintendent Pat Gemma said in a written statement that the district is “grateful for the opportunity to have been part of this model collaboration.”
Having an automatic external defibrillator near the popular field is a good safety precaution, said Jeremiah Malu, 20, who was practicing kicking a rugby ball on Thursday.
“A lot of people come here. There’s older people and younger people,” he said. “You never can be too safe.”
E-mail Shaun Bishop at sbishop@dailynewsgroup.com.
Copyright 2010 San Jose Mercury News