This summer I had the honor to do research with Dr. Victoria Vetter, Dr. Justine Shults, and Lindsey Flanagan from the Cardiology Department at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the Perelman School of Medicine. 

In the United States there are approximately 380,000 Sudden Cardiac Arrests (SCA) a year. Yet sadly the survival rate is only 10-12%. However, if the SCA is witnessed in a school that has AEDs and a Cardiac Emergency Response Plan. In this scenario, the survival rate of a SCA is 80-85%. The objective of our study is to assess the AEDs in Philadelphia public schools to ensure that every school can become Heart Safe and ready to save a life. The study population included 219 schools and their 354 AEDs. The Statistical analysis was performed using Stata Statistical Software.

In order to be Rescue Ready a school should have a sufficient number of Rescue Ready AEDs. A school has a sufficient number of AEDs if they have one AED per 500 students. An AED has 3 main components: the unit itself, the electrode pads, and the battery. A rescue ready AED is under 8 years old and its pads and batteries are not expired. 

The study results showed that 99% of schools had at least one AED in the building. 92% of the schools had a sufficient number of AEDs. Yet when calculating whether the AEDs were rescue ready or not the study results showed a different story. What used to be one percent of schools having zero AEDs became 39% of schools having no rescue ready AEDs. Only 54% of schools had a sufficient number of rescue ready AEDs. Out of the 354 AEDs in the SDP, just half of them are rescue ready. A visual way to see the difference between the Rescue Ready AEDs and the not Rescue Ready AEDs is by using the interactive map we made for our study. You can use the QR code on my poster to access it. 

Ensuring that an AED is RR is as simple as making sure that its three components: unit, pads, and batteries are up to date and not expired. 56 AEDs can immediately become rescue ready and 33 schools can go from having zero to one rescue ready AED with the replacement of $70 pads.This study illustrates the need to educate the schools about the importance of not just having an AED but having an AED that is rescue ready. These study results will help ensure that every school is ready to save a life! 

This summer not only did I have the amazing opportunity to do research that I am passionate about, but I also had the opportunity to shadow Dr. Vetter in the clinic, meet with the CHOP lobbyists to see how research data can help form policy, and even observe a procedure in the Cath Lab. I am so grateful that I got to work under Dr. Vetter and Lindsey Flanagan to make my first time doing research so special and meaningful.