POLICE OFFER LIFESAVING SERVICE
By Paula Marinak
Capital Times Staff Writer
The PSH Office of Safety and Police
Services recently acquired some equip
ment that will enable officers to perform a
common lifesaving treatment for students,
faculty and staff with heart problems. This
past May, the office purchased an auto
mated external defibrillator (AED) which
the officers have been certified to use
since September 26.
"It's been a number of years since
we've had anyone on campus have a heart
attack," said Officer Dan Tingle, emer
gency services coordinator. "But in the
recent past we've had people with chest
pains."
The officers have not needed to use
the defibrillator yet, but they have tried
since last year to get it. They originally
looked to the Emergency Health Services
Foundation to help them obtain the tech
nology since that organization has a grant
arid a training program that allows any
public safety agency to get one. Because
the grant only applies to municipalities,
police services had to pay for the $3,500
machine out of its own budget.
Harrisburg and Schuylkill are the only
Penn State campuses that have defibrilla
tors and, currently, each location has one
unit. PSH is considering a proposal that
would place an AED in individual build
ings, but for now, the officers keep it
because someone is always on call who
would be able to take the defibrillator
where it is needed.
Tingle led the effort to get the LifePak
500. He said his office decided to pur
chase it because, as a non-traditional cam
pus, PSH might be more likely to have a
greater number of older students, faculty
and staff who may be more prone to heart
problems.
Chief Kevin Stoehr thinks the AED is
worth every cent of its price tag. "Years
down the road, as prices go down, I think
they'll just become more familiar in soci
ety in general. Almost like fire extinguish
ers," he said.
A recent USA Today article described
how defibrillators can save lives. The
heart is divided into four chambers. The
top two are called the right and left atria;
the bottom two are the left and right ven
tricles. Blood enters the heart in the right
atrium and travels to the right ventricle
and then to the lungs, where it gets oxy
gen. The oxygenated blood then moves
from the left atrium to the left ventricle,
and out to the rest of the body.
Normal heartbeats start with small
bursts of electricity that begin in the right
atrium. The impulses go through the
heart, where a second stronger impulse
forces the muscle to contract and pump
blood to the body. If the heart is damaged
and the signal is blocked, a short circuit
can occur. This causes the muscle to
quiver, or fibrillate, which prevents it
_mg to a . .quay _ ion wat.. .s . dart wit. )ctric current,
allowing the heart to start its natural cycle again. It's like rebooting a computer."
from pumping and causes a heart attack
"A defibrillator increases chances of
survival," Tingle said. "The earlier you
can use it, the better." As USA Today
reported, the chances of saving a heart
attack victim drop 10 percent for every
minute without treatment.
Tingle explained more thoroughly
how this life-saving device works. "First,
you expose the person's chest. Then, you
place one pad on the upper right side of
the chest and the other on the lower left
side to surround the heart. The heart goes
into four abnormal rhythms," he contin
ued. "Two of those are shockable and two
are not. When you turn the defibrillator
on, a readout will tell you what kind of
rhythm you have. If it is shockable, the
defibrillator delivers the shock. If not,
perform CPR and try to get the heart into
a rhythm where the defibrillator can
help."
To use some concrete examples, defib
rillators restore normal heartbeats by
bathing the heart in beneficial electricity.
It is like recharging a battery or rebooting
a computer.
Health and safety professionals such
as police officers, firefighters and emer
gency medical services workers must
have CPR certification before using defib
rillators, and they can also attend a train
ing course, which lasts about four hours.
Stoehr and Tingle said these machines
are extremely simple to use. A defibrilla
tor came in handy for the police at
Harrisburg International Airport earlier
this summer. They had just gotten an
AED, but had not yet learned to use it
when someone went into cardiac arrest in
the airport. Even without training, police
saved the person's life, because, as Tingle
said, "There are cards and diagrams
explaining how to do everything, so you
can just open it up, look at it and go."
Just as defibrillators are becoming
common in public places such as airports,
more colleges across the country now
have them. Tingle said Gettysburg
College, for instance, got two with an
alumni donation.
"I think we've just seen the tip of the ice
berg," said Stoehr, regarding AED purchases
at colleges, universities and elsewhere, and
Tingle agreed. "It's a lot easier than CPR and
much more effective," he said. "Anything we
can do to help someone who might suffer
from a heart condition, we should do."
Blood Drive
Hosted by Chi Gamma lota
By Kimber Booth
For The Capital Times
Chi Gamma lota hosted a Red Cross
Blood drive at PSH on November 1. With
the help of XGI members, Lion
Ambassadors, and the Communication
Club, met their goal of seventy-five pints.
Kerri, XGI secretary, stepped forward
to donate. "I try to donate every eight
weeks because of its importance to Red
Cross. This donation will go for my sister
who is getting ready to undergo surgery."
Amanda Barber, a first-time donor,
was always leery of donating. "They had
to take my pulse a second time. They let
me know it was high because I was ner
vous. My stepmom always gives blood
and I've decided to because of its bene
fit."
Fred Fuller, SDCET student and XGI
member, reminds students to support the
Red Cross College Challenge hosted by
Chi Gamma lota. Area colleges will com
pete in March for the greatest amount of
donated blood. Prizes will be awarded and
everyone who donates blood will receive
a T-shirt. The exact dates of this drive are
still being discussed, but be sure to step
forward and show your school spirit.
XGI will also host a Veteran's Day
ceremony on Thursday, November 9,
from noon until 1 p.m. at the main flag
pole in front of the library on Vartan
Plaza. Guest speakers include Col. David
Hansen, U.S. Army, retired, and Capt.
Chris McKelvey, a U.S. Navy comman
der. "There will be a static display of
impressive military equipment, as well as
the unveiling of a permanent memorial
marker honoring all veterans." A recep
tion follows the ceremony in the Morrison
Gallery Lounge in the library.