Automatic External Defibrillators
In April 2002, The Novi Police Department announced the purchase
of Automatic External Defibrillators (AED) to help victims in
cardiac arrest. AED’s are small portable devices that allow
officers to effectively and accurately determine if a person
requires intervention and to administer the shock intended to
restore the heart to a regular beat. AED’s are carried in police
vehicles while officers are on patrol. Fire Department and
ambulance personnel still remain the primary source of emergency
medical care but now, police will be sent to persons who may be
experiencing cardiac arrest. Unconscious victims, reported
cardiac arrest, persons not breathing, or CPR in progress are types
of incidents when a police officer will be sent to aid in the
medical emergency.
Fire and ambulance personnel are currently equipped with AED’s
but research has established that for every minute that passes, the
chance for survival decreases by 7-10%. The intent of the AED
program is to ensure a person in cardiac arrest gets help as soon as
possible. Novi Police Chief David Molloy said, "The faster we
get help to a person, the better that victim’s chances of survival.
By getting people help 2 minutes earlier, their chance of surviving
increases by 20%. If we can get there soon enough, we can save
lives."
The American Heart Association has determined there are four
steps that can increase survival rates:
- Early access to emergency medical care – 911
- Early CPR
- Early defibrillation (access to AED’s)
- Early advanced medical care
When these guidelines are followed, the survival rate for victims
of cardiac arrest raises from 3% to almost 20%.
Police Chief David Molloy said, "We have a proven device for
saving lives and we have an excellent means of rapidly delivering
that device to people in need by using police officers on patrol in
our neighborhoods. Equipping officers with AED’s and having
them respond to calls of potential cardiac arrest gives strength to
the City Council’s commitment to provide the best possible emergency
medical care to the citizens of Novi. This program greatly
enhances the chance of survival. It IS a matter of life and
death!"
Police officers annually receive training in First Aid,
cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and AED’s.
