AEDs In Bakersfield Schools

On any given weekday 20\% of our population are on school campuses. Over 400,000 people die each year from Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) and a little over 3,000 people per year die from fire. This means we are 100 times more likely to need an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) than a fire extinguisher. Yet we have laws and building codes requiring fire extinguishers and NOTHING for AED's. Fire extinguishers are required in all school districts and so should AEDs!

It doesn't matter if the fire station is across the street with an AED, what if they are out on another call? We know that every minute that it takes to put an AED on someone means 10\% less survival rate. The average EMS response time is 9-15 minutes. If an AED is in a school, it should take 90 seconds to get the AED to a victim in sudden cardiac arrest anywhere on the school campus.

We elect lawmakers into office and they should be acting for the good of the people. Placing AEDs in schools is for the "good of the people".

We are not only protecting kids but teachers, staff, parents, the pre-schoolers that come with their parents to pick up siblings or watch an activity, grandparents and visitors.

Slowly but surely, individual states have continued to pass school AED legislation but not fast enough!

Did you know that in the state of California in the past 2 1/2 years, we have lost more than 51 young lives ranging from the ages of 10 to 23? Many of these deaths took place in schools or colleges during athletic events. If there had been access to AEDs (Automated External Defibrillators), many of these lives could have possibly been saved.

Please sign our petition to get AEDs into all of our Bakersfield Schools.

Together, we can make our schools heart-safe!

SCAA-Bakersfield Chapter & Local Citizens Educating & Advocating for Change