Posted on Tue, Sep. 30, 2003
Use of emergency equipment growing
SCOTT FOWLER
Staff Writer
The life-saving device used to shock Adam Quilty's heart back into rhythm has become more widely available in recent years. You can find automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) in some malls, airplanes, churches and gyms.
A local push to place an AED in each of about 750 police cars serving Charlotte and the surrounding counties -- at a cost of $1,425 per AED -- is also in the early stages.
For the Shenk Quilty family, the more defibrillators, the better.
"Without the defibrillator, Adam is dead, no matter how good the CPR," said Ken Quilty, whose son Adam went into cardiac arrest in March 2000 while playing lacrosse for Charlotte's Vance High.
Adam's life was saved by a team of rescuers who performed CPR until a paramedic with a defibrillator arrived.
"I want to see defibrillators at each school, and at every school-sponsored sporting event," Ken Quilty said.
An ambulance and two paramedics who have AEDs on hand are paid to staff every high school varsity football game in Charlotte, according to Vicki Hamilton, the athletics director for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system.
"Why don't we staff JV games that way as well? Or other sports? Regretfully, it comes down to budget," Hamilton said.
Many high school football games in the Carolinas are served by volunteer fire departments, which often carry AEDs on their trucks.
High school athletic competitions other than football rarely have an ambulance on-site. Statistically, football has the largest number of catastrophic injuries among high school sports.
Other school districts provide medical staffing at football games differently.
In Gaston County, ambulances and local fire departments voluntarily staff high school football games. They can be called away from games for other emergencies, said Butch Adams, the athletics director for Gaston County schools.
In Rock Hill, Northwestern High and Rock Hill High share a stadium. Because a large hospital is only about a half-mile away, the district doesn't pay for an ambulance and paramedics to remain on-site during varsity games, district spokeswoman Elaine Baker said.
AEDs are almost foolproof. They provide verbal instructions and don't administer a shock unless the machine senses one is needed. It's preferable -- but not essential -- to have a few hours of training before using an AED.
A few local schools have at least one AED on-site. Several private schools in Charlotte have them -- Charlotte Latin has three.
Southeast Guilford, the public high school in Greensboro where Quilty collapsed, later purchased an AED after a fund-raising campaign. That campaign was spearheaded by Mark White, who helped save Quilty's life.
White, a nationally certified athletic trainer, also actively promotes getting more licensed trainers in high schools across the Carolinas so up-to-date medical aid is more readily available to all athletes.
Scott Barringer, who leads the Cabarrus County school system's sports medicine department, obtained a grant from a hospital and purchased 14 AEDs, at least one for every middle school and high school in the Cabarrus system.
"We haven't had to use one of ours yet, but they are ready," Barringer said.
"I'm also involved in a group that is trying to work on getting some grant money so we can get one of these in every high school in North Carolina."
To the Shenk Quilty family, that can't come soon enough.
"The next time a local student or teacher or fan at any school goes into cardiac arrest," Ken Quilty said, "I don't want people to go through what we did."
Use of emergency equipment growing
SCOTT FOWLER
Staff Writer
The life-saving device used to shock Adam Quilty's heart back into rhythm has become more widely available in recent years. You can find automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) in some malls, airplanes, churches and gyms.
A local push to place an AED in each of about 750 police cars serving Charlotte and the surrounding counties -- at a cost of $1,425 per AED -- is also in the early stages.
For the Shenk Quilty family, the more defibrillators, the better.
"Without the defibrillator, Adam is dead, no matter how good the CPR," said Ken Quilty, whose son Adam went into cardiac arrest in March 2000 while playing lacrosse for Charlotte's Vance High.
Adam's life was saved by a team of rescuers who performed CPR until a paramedic with a defibrillator arrived.
"I want to see defibrillators at each school, and at every school-sponsored sporting event," Ken Quilty said.
An ambulance and two paramedics who have AEDs on hand are paid to staff every high school varsity football game in Charlotte, according to Vicki Hamilton, the athletics director for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system.
"Why don't we staff JV games that way as well? Or other sports? Regretfully, it comes down to budget," Hamilton said.
Many high school football games in the Carolinas are served by volunteer fire departments, which often carry AEDs on their trucks.
High school athletic competitions other than football rarely have an ambulance on-site. Statistically, football has the largest number of catastrophic injuries among high school sports.
Other school districts provide medical staffing at football games differently.
In Gaston County, ambulances and local fire departments voluntarily staff high school football games. They can be called away from games for other emergencies, said Butch Adams, the athletics director for Gaston County schools.
In Rock Hill, Northwestern High and Rock Hill High share a stadium. Because a large hospital is only about a half-mile away, the district doesn't pay for an ambulance and paramedics to remain on-site during varsity games, district spokeswoman Elaine Baker said.
AEDs are almost foolproof. They provide verbal instructions and don't administer a shock unless the machine senses one is needed. It's preferable -- but not essential -- to have a few hours of training before using an AED.
A few local schools have at least one AED on-site. Several private schools in Charlotte have them -- Charlotte Latin has three.
Southeast Guilford, the public high school in Greensboro where Quilty collapsed, later purchased an AED after a fund-raising campaign. That campaign was spearheaded by Mark White, who helped save Quilty's life.
White, a nationally certified athletic trainer, also actively promotes getting more licensed trainers in high schools across the Carolinas so up-to-date medical aid is more readily available to all athletes.
Scott Barringer, who leads the Cabarrus County school system's sports medicine department, obtained a grant from a hospital and purchased 14 AEDs, at least one for every middle school and high school in the Cabarrus system.
"We haven't had to use one of ours yet, but they are ready," Barringer said.
"I'm also involved in a group that is trying to work on getting some grant money so we can get one of these in every high school in North Carolina."
To the Shenk Quilty family, that can't come soon enough.
"The next time a local student or teacher or fan at any school goes into cardiac arrest," Ken Quilty said, "I don't want people to go through what we did."
