AHA Advocates for Cardiac Emergency-response Plans in Grades K-12

DALLAS — Each year, approximately 7,000 children age 18 or younger experience cardiac arrest outside a hospital, with survival rates of less than 10{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5}. Immediate CPR can double or triple the chance of survival.

The American Heart Association (AHA) announced publication of a policy statement advocating for state laws requiring the implementation of cardiac emergency-response plans (CERPs) in K-12 schools. The paper, published in the September issue of School Nurse, comes one year after AHA convened a group of stakeholders to develop tools to assist schools in developing CERPs.

“Cardiac Emergency Response Planning for Schools: A Policy Statement” provides a national model for K-12 schools to develop, implement, practice, and evaluate a CERP, while addressing the legal aspects and critical nature of training and drills in bringing a CERP to fruition. The statement recommends that all schools have a CERP in place that contains the following minimum, evidence-based core elements:

• Establishing a cardiac emergency-response team;

• Activating the team in response to a cardiac arrest;

• Implementing automated external defibrillator (AED) placement and routine maintenance within the school (similar to fire-extinguisher protocols);

• Disseminating the plan throughout the school campus;

• Maintaining ongoing staff training in CPR/AED use;

• Practicing using drills (akin to fire and lockdown drills);

• Integrating local EMS with the plan; and

• Conducting ongoing and annual review and evaluation of the plan.

The AHA’s policy statement calls for state laws, regulations, and related educational standards mandating these core CERP elements as well as appropriations to ensure that schools are able to fund these efforts. Currently, only four states — Connecticut, Indiana, Michigan, and New Jersey — require a CERP in K-12 schools. Further, while 34 states require CPR training and hands-on practice as a high-school graduation requirement, 15 states and the District of Columbia have no laws related to CPR, AEDs, or CERPs in schools.

“A cardiac emergency-response plan can increase cardiac arrest survival rates by 50{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} or more by enabling a trained lay-responder team to take action,” said Kathleen Rose, RN and co-chair of the working group that authored the paper.

Fellow co-chair Dr. Monica Martin Goble, AHA volunteer and pediatric cardiologist at the University of Michigan Congenital Heart Center, added, “every minute counts in cardiac arrest. The safety of students, school staff, and visitors will only be enhanced by school teams that feel empowered to administer life-saving care until EMS arrives.”

Designed to be stand-alone guidelines or merged with a school’s existing medical emergency-response plan, the CERP can be used by school personnel, healthcare providers, boards of education, and school-safety advocates to better prepare for cardiac arrest. A CERP toolkit, including the policy statement and an accompanying policy in brief, can be accessed at www.heart.org/cerp.