Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: automated defibrillators, again

[Lynn Nadeau / Maraiah (welcome]

RoseWind Cohousing, Port Townsend WA

I'm about to order the AED we provided funds for in this year's budget. In our 
town they are very common: schools, library, pool, community buildings. Our 
fire department recommended the Medtronic LifePak Express. This is a medium 
priced reputable model: it is compatible with the Medtronic equipment our Fire 
and Rescue people use, so they can attach their professional unit to the same 
leads you already put on the patient. They also have a grant to provide free 
training to groups that get AEDs. The training uses the LifePak unit as a model.

Price is apt to be about $1700 with two sets of pads, a simple wall case, 
battery pack. Prices are fairly consistent via Internet. The warranty may be 
only 5 years, but they don't say anything about needing to replace anything but 
the battery pack (about $90) every few years. 

According to all my research:
You can't shock someone who would be harmed by it (whose heart has not stopped 
beating).
Good Samaritan laws protect you from liability, like if the AED treatment isn't 
sufficient to save the victim. 
It is automated and tells you out loud the simple instructions. 

While it might be fetched for use in a nearby home, our aim is to have it for 
gatherings in the Common House. Not only do we have many members over 60, but 
we have fairly frequent public gatherings, sometimes with 80 people, and there 
is a clear statistical possibility of someone going "down" at some point. 

Maraiah Lynn Nadeau