After a UCF student suffered what is believed to have been a heart attack on Monday, UCF officials have begun examining standards for placing and locating life-saving equipment around campus.
Classmates of the engineering student who fell victim to the cardiac arrest reported there were no AEDs immediately accessible to administer the reviving technique.
An AED was located on the second floor of HPA1, one floor above the incident, although UCFPD officers on patrol carry AEDs in their vehicles and are trained in using them, a UCF official stated.
One of the responding officers on Monday had an AED on hand to make two at the scene within two and a half minutes of when the 911 call was placed.
The American Heart Association recommends that an AED be available within three minutes of a medical event.
Assistant director and public information officer for UCF Police Courtney Gilmartin spoke on UCF’s plan for improving responses to such incidents.
“Although UCF met that standard on Monday, we have already started examining our AED availability and policies to see what we can do better. We want to encourage more students to take first-aid and CPR classes.”
UCF will waive fees for three upcoming first aid classes, which will be held Sept. 30, Oct. 8 and 13 at the Recreation and Wellness Center. Additional information on the classes can be found at http://rwc.sdes.ucf.edu/programs/risk-management/cpr-first-aid.
