Nashua Rotary Clubs Collaborate to Buy AED

Posted by Karen Keegan

Each club applied for a District Simplified Grant and will provide matching funds that together amount to $5000. This amount will purchase 5 Automated External Defibrillators for 5 of the Nashua school buildings.

As you are aware, early CPR and defibrillation are critical components of a successful resuscitation from cardiac arrest. When defibrillation is used by the public in an urban setting, with widespread knowledge of CPR and a rapid EMS response survival rates of adult victims have been shown to increase. Most schools are typically used as gathering sites for community activities and in these circumstances the likelihood of defibrillator usage is increased. In addition, recent technological modifications now make it possible to use the newer AED on a child under the age of 8 years old. Our Rotary Clubs would like to make it a reality that all Nashua schools have an AED.

The total cost of the project to put an AED –and a cabinet to contain it—in each school, is approximately $15,000. Rockingham Ambulance is donating the deployment, registration and training time. Rotarians will donate the time to install the cabinets in each school.

Together, the 2 Nashua Rotary Clubs (Rotary Club of Nashua, and Rotary Club of Nashua West) have raised $5,000. We do have a private donor pledging to help with the cost of the cabinets, this may amount to between $2000 and $3000.