Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Defibrillator in the common house

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

So let's imagine a few possible scenarios: 
And from all the imaginable scenarios,  you never know for sure that the AED 
was the determining factor in survival.

To summarize this reality check: Even with some of us trained in CPR, and even 
if we had a $1500 AED, circumstances would have to be just right to bring 
Person ABCDE back to life.

I forgot to mention another factor in Takoma Village not purchasing an AED is 
that we are in a city with several hospitals fairly close by. An ambulance can 
be here in less than 5 minutes. So for us the more predictably helpful plan 
would be to devise a system of alerts for calling the ambulance when people 
live alone or a housemate is travelling.

An Apple Watch has proved its value many times over.  If the wearer is 
conscious, Siri can send an email to the community or 911 very quickly. Even in 
the middle of the night, someone always seems to be online. A phone call is 
just as fast but it means guessing who might be able to arrive quickly. It’s 
one call at a time.

This conversation is about AED which are used in absolute emergencies, but most 
often there is a warning like severe pain during which a person can be 
encouraged to call for help.

Sharon
———
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC