Pasig public schools, health centers get AEDs from local gov’t

Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) were distributed to public schools and health centers in Pasig by the city government on Wednesday, Sept. 15. 

Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto, Vice Mayor Robert “Dodot” Jaworski Jr., and members of the 11th City Council and the city’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (DRRMO) led the turnover ceremony at the Tanghalang Rizal. 

Around 90 portable AED kits — 40 from the Sy Medical Trading Corporation and 50 from ZOLL Medical Corporation — were given to the beneficiaries. 

The medical devices were distributed to augment the schools and the health centers’ emergency equipment, encourage preparedness among school faculty and health workers, and improve their general response capacities. 

AEDs are primarily used to help individuals who are experiencing sudden cardiac arrest. The devices can “analyze the heart’s rhythm, and deliver defibrillation or an electric shock to help the heart re-establish an effective rhythm,” according to the American Red Cross. 

School principals and health center representatives accepted the AED kits during the ceremony.

Personnel from the DRRMO and the supplier companies also gave a brief overview of AEDs, instances of cardiac arrest, and methods of resuscitation. 

After the ceremony, they demonstrated and trained the school and health center officials on the proper use of the devices using cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) mannequins.