AED

According to NorthJersey.com, a recently introduced bill to install defibrillator in public schools has been stalled due to costs.  "This is a much, much needed piece of legislation and there is a lot of support for it," said Sen. Robert Singer, R-Mercer, who sponsored it in the Senate. "But in this economy, how do we fund it? Unfortunately, it comes down to dollars and cents."


This is a familiar theme given the current economy is weighing the balance between saving someones life and the cost of a defibrillator.  Jim Zilinski, whose 11-year-old daughter Janet died in 2006 after collapsing at a cheerleading practice from a previously undetected heart defect and whom the bill is named after, said most schools can get an AED for about $1,000.  Most AED's sold on the market today retailer for $1200 to $2000 but there are many discounts and programs that can reduce the cost of the defibrillator making it affordable for schools to place in areas that have the highest risk for sudden cardiac arrest.


Those who have been affected by SCA, Sudden Cardiac Arrest or know of their life saving abilities were shocked to hear that the state made a decision to save money verses the lives of our children.   "I was shocked when I heard this bill has been stalled," said Tim Adams.  "What's a person's life worth? Even with only a 20 percent chance of surviving, we could have laid him to rest knowing that everything was done that could have been done."


The odds of survival without an automated external defibrillator drop 10% every minute after someone has suffered a cardiac arrest.  AED's are proven life savers but they also need to be maintained to make sure the aed battery and aed pads are have not expired.  Once you have purchased and AED, you will need to change the pads and batteries about once every 4 years.  The cost for maintaining these devices is about $300 every four years.  


The overall costs is very low for an AED and this is an example of where our lawmakers need to setup priorities and stop pork barrel spending on frivolous programs and focus the money where it can do the most good.