In January of 2023, Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills suffered a cardiac arrest during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals. When medical professionals rushed to the field to save his life, the world seemed to stop, and at that moment, no one knew what had happened.
The medics were not worried about how he went down; all that mattered was how to fix it, and that’s where an AED came into play. That’s short for an automated external defibrillator, an easy-to-use medical device that can save the life of someone in cardiac arrest.
These little boxes are used in more than just the NFL or other professional sports settings; high schools throughout the country also prioritize them.
Plymouth Whitemarsh High School is known for its pride in athletics, so they prioritize the safety of its 53 varsity, junior varsity, and first-year sports teams. Throughout the school, they have three AEDS that are easy to access, small enough to travel with, and, most importantly, easy enough for anyone to use.
“Everything about this school and us is about safety,” Joseph Lally, the general operations manager at PW high school, said. “In my 21 years here, we have had one circumstance where an AED saved someone, which is well worth the price of all the AEDs.”
The school’s football team has an individual AED that can travel with the team to away games. Not a single coach or athletic trainer is allowed to step on the field if they are not qualified to use the device on an individual.
“All the coaches must have training in first aid, CPR, and all of those types of things, and that’s part of it, being able to use an AED,” Ralph Bretz, athletic director, said.
The school’s safety commitment also reflects the Simon’s Heart club, a small part of a larger organization that raises money to donate AEDS to schools in underrepresented communities.
Unfortunately, the club has been less active within the past few years. Bretz said that participation dropped off after COVID hit.
“We lost a lot of clubs, activities, and in-person things, so now we are finally back to normal, I think the club will get back up and rolling,” Bretz said.
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