Pool, track complex now equipped with defibrillator

    With all of the people who use the pool and track/football complex, School Nurse Angie Paisley was concerned about potential health issues that could occur there.
    After two Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) where placed near both gyms at Chase County Schools, and another one at the city gym, Paisley suggested another be stationed at the pool area.
    That will happen in the next few days after the new AED unit and the cabinet it will be stored in arrived this week.
    Since the pool complex was built through a cooperative effort between the city and school, known as the Imperial Community Facilities Agency, Paisley asked if the city council would agree to paying half.
    Council members approved funding 50 percent of the $1,700 purchase (unit and cabinet) at a meeting last month using the city’s community development sales tax dollars. School funds paid the other half.
    The AED is a portable unit that automatically diagnoses the life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias of ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia in a patient.
    The unit applies electrical therapy which stops the arrhythmia, allowing the heart to reestablish an effective rhythm.
    The unit gives simple audio and visual commands, directing the layperson to apply the electrode pads to the chest of the victim.
    Paisley said they’ve had the units in the school for several years. While they haven’t ever been used on a patient, they are available if needed, she added.