2013 October PASO Magazine

EDUCATION & YOUTH
Templeton Unified equips
campuses with lifesaving AEDs
By Melissa Chavez
When a teacher collapsed on campus, Janice
Harington’s blood ran cold. What if that teacher
was struck down with a heart attack? What
could have anyone done to help until paramedics
arrived?
Sudden cardiac arrest is the number one cause
of death at work, according to an OSHA-based
study. Without immediate intervention, over 90
percent of those who experience a “massive heart
attack” don’t survive. This startling percentage
exceeds deaths caused by AIDS, Alzheimer’s, assaults
with firearms, breast cancer, colon cancer,
fires, motor vehicle accidents, prostate cancer and
suicides combined.
“You can prolong life with the use of CPR,
but not save a life in the way an AED can,” said
Janice, a 17-year librarian with the Templeton
Unified School District (TUSD). Automated
external defibrillators, or AEDs, are small portable
machines that can diagnose potentially lifethreatening
cardiac arrhythmias and treat them
through defibrillation to reestablish a proper operating
rhythm.
Janice is especially aware of heart emergencies
with help from her own family. She is mom to
Heather, a paramedic in San Luis Obispo, and a
son, Duane Tucker, who is a fire medic in Idaho.
Her daughter-in-law, Taylor, also works as a
paramedic.
Janice first took action in 2004, when
Templeton Education Foundation rewarded
her grant request to fund three AEDs. Unfortunately,
the devices languished on a shelf due to
insurance and litigation concerns.
A chance meeting with Mary Winokur on
July 4, 2012, only renewed Janice’s resolve. “I felt
that Mary had the same passion I did,” she said.
It was the untimely death of Ryan Justus Clarke,
Mary’s only son, an otherwise healthy 30-yearold
firefighter, that birthed in Mary a mission to
honor his memory and to prevent future deaths
by implementing CPR and AED training in local
high schools. Chris Donin, who heads the
Maintenance and Operations Transportation
department at the school district, met with Janice
and Mary to lend his support.
Templeton firefighter Tony
Broom suffered cardiac
arrest and was revived
through use of an AED.
Ryan J. Clarke, 30, worked as
a CDF firefighter who wanted
to save lives.
Sudden cardiac arrest
is the number one cause
of death at work,
according to an OSHA-based study.
Mary assured Janice and Chris that would-be
rescuers are not liable for doing good deeds, due
to the “Good Samaritan Law,” described in Section
1799.102 of the California Health and Safety
Code. To date, twenty laws have been approved
or enacted in California alone in support of
utilizing AEDs in schools, assisted living communities,
hotels, business offices, sports facilities,
public buildings and more.
Janice contacted TUSD Superintendent Joe
Koski, Ed.D, who listened to her concerns. In
response, she fulfilled his list of needed requirements
to proceed further. Janice also appealed to
the nonprofit parent/teacher organization, PTO,
for funds toward new AED units.
“Shelly Belmonte got the ball rolling,” Janice
said of the group’s $1,500 endowment. “They
funded it and authorized a two-year commitment
to subsidize batteries and medical oversight
for them.” In addition to a first aid kit,
TUSD emergency protocol incorporates an
AED. To date, three units are centrally located
at the middle school library, and two elementary
school offices. An athletic trainer also carries an
AED at Templeton High School.
A victim’s chances of survival are reduced by 7-10 percent with
every minute that passes without CPR and defibrillation.
As awareness of AEDs have grown, Janice
believes people feel more comfortable about
supplying them in schools and offices. Increased
media attention has also helped educate
the public that sudden cardiac death can strike
anyone, from the elderly to high school basketball
players.
“It wasn’t that long ago that one of our own
Templeton Fire Department (TFD) firefighters,
Engineer Tony Broom, experienced a heart
attack at work,” says Janice. When no pulse
was detected, his staff performed CPR and applied
an AED to save his life.” For their efforts
on September 30, 2010, Chief Jim Langborg
and his firefighters received an “Outstanding
EMS Contributor Award” by the San Luis
Obispo County EMS Agency.
Tony’s life was not only spared, he returned
to full duty. And in September 2013, the firefighting
EMT was selected from amongst a
captain and two engineer applicants as TFD’s
new Volunteer Coordinator. It is dramatic
outcomes such as these that reaffirms Janice’s
and Mary’s resolve to continue their mission
toward seeing AEDs installed in school campuses
and beyond.
“The next time you go to Disneyland, look
around. AEDs are everywhere, easily accessible,
and just about anybody can operate one,” says
Janice. “I’m so grateful for PTO’s assistance.
Together, we’ve raised the standard of safety for
all schools to follow. What a simple thing to use
and save someone’s life.”
To learn more about funding AEDs for schools,
visit the “Ryan J. Clarke CPR Fund for Schools”
at www.cpr4ryan.com or on Facebook or www.
slo-redcross.org. Call 239-7438 or 703-0134. Send
correspondence or tax-deductible donations to 1707
Canyon Crest Lane, Paso Robles, CA, 93446.
42 Paso Robles Magazine, October 2013