Running a business comes with many rewards but also tons of challenges. Accident, such as sudden cardiac arrests (SCA), is one of those challenges that can occur anytime in a business building. High-energy electric shock to the heart of patients with SCA through the chest wall is called defibrillation, an essential life-saving step in the life chain. However, few emergency medical services can participate in and provide defibrillation in time since SCA happens suddenly. The best way to ensure timely defibrillation is to let people nearby use an automated external defibrillator (AED) for an electric shock to save lives. [1]
Having an AED is one of the best solutions any business can provide. The following content will cover three reasons for why do you need to purchase AED for business.
- Employee's Safety is the Top Priority
SCA can happen to anyone and does not discriminate against young or old, healthy or sick people. Your business may have a large number of employees, or different people may pass by every day. There is no doubt that the safety of the employees and clients is one of the top priorities. Business owners should prepare AED equipment in the building to save lives once a sudden cardiac arrest occurs. With an AED purchase, you can demonstrate to your employees, clients and local communities that your business attaches great importance to their safety.
- There are AED Requirements in Some Workplace
AED purchase and installation in public places is a must in some industries. In countries with this regulation, AED equipment is required in places with high occupancy or building capacity (A single building with 50,000 square feet or more of indoor floor space and where at least 50 individuals congregate on a normal business day). [2] Suppose your business is located in a country where the configuration of AED equipment is required, or most enterprises in your industry are installing AED equipment. In that case, it is wise of you to evaluate whether an AED device needs to be part of the first aid solution so that the public access AED can be used within minutes of the accident.
- There are Many Benefits of AED Purchase for Business
Except for the AED requirements in the workplace, buying AEDs for business will benefit you and your employees a lot.
The quick emergency service response can be achieved if you purchase AEDs for your business. Act immediately and treat the patient with CPR and AED is necessary. While the emergency service response time may be affected if the location of your company is remote. Moreover, endless waiting could decrease the chance of survival as the first AED shock is recommended to deliver within 3-5 minutes. [3] Therefore, with an AED for your workplace, the response efficiency and resuscitation success rate can be improved significantly.
Configuring an AED in your enterprise is conducive to improve the survival rate. The UK National Cardiac Arrest Audit (NCAA) and the Danish In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Registry (DANARREST) revealed a low SCA survival rate out of the hospital. Asia reports only a 3-6% survival rate, Australia and New Zealand 12%. Lack of AED installation and the delay of timely response are two of the reasons for the low survival rate. [4] Some studies have shown that places with strategically placed AEDs have a higher survival rate than places without AEDs. [5] Therefore, make an AED purchase for your business, let your employees respond to this situation properly, and let AED quick access, which makes sense to improve survival rate and increase your corporate social responsibility.
How Does Business Implement an AED Program?
After considering why you should buy AEDs for your business, you may want to know how to buy the right AED and implement an AED program. For the AED purchase, you do need to make sure it meets your needs and the regulations of your location. While implementing an AED program may vary from one place to another, they generally include the following steps.
- AED purchase – Doing some research before AED purchase is recommended to help you make the decision. For example, which kind of AED does your workplace need, fully-automatic AED or semi-automatic AED? What features do you need in an AED? Contact the AED company directly for consultant and help (such as Mindray, which masters the advanced technology of fastest shock delivery in the AED field) to find out the model for your workplace if you have clear answers to the previous questions in your mind.
- CPR/AED training –Though some AED devices on the market are designed in quite a user-friendly way, it still helps if someone receives relative training in advance. Except for how to perform CPR, quick and correct use of AED also matters. Some manufacturers, e.g. Mindray, is able to provide AED trainer solution, which is a training device that shares the exact same features as the real AED, so that trainees can use it to for training purpose.
- AED registration – Make sure to check local laws and practices first. You need to register your AED equipment with public safety answering points.
- AED device management – a crucial segment of the AED program. Basically, program management is designed to have a better management of all your AED devices effectively. Some AED brands will offer AED tracking systems for convenient management, such as Mindray AED Alert System. It includes checking the expiration dates of AED replacement pads and batteries, the location of your AED equipment, whether the device works as expected or not, and so on.
The Right AED for Your Business
A simple AED purchase for business comes with many benefits ranging from increased safety at work and preparedness for potential emergencies to responsible corporate image. But choosing the right AED for business is not an easy task due to the plenty of AED brands available on the market.
When you decide to buy AEDs, Mindray AED could be your right choice. Mindray adopts QShock patented technology to master the fastest time of the first AED shock conduction in 8 seconds. It owes to the distinctive features of the Mindray AED C series that opening the cover is to power on (2 seconds) and the integration of heart rhythm analysis and device charging (5 seconds).
Cost effectiveness is one of the key points that enterprises pay attention to. The 5-year shelf life of battery and AED replacement pads leads Mindray to the leading position in the industry. It effectively reduces the replacement frequency in the subsequent AED maintenance so as to bear less maintenance cost than other AED brands’. If you run a large enterprise with multiple AED devices configured, Mindray AED Alert System is good to reduce manual maintenance costs by detailing and recording the status of each AED device. Therefore, it is cost-effective for a business to buy Mindray AED equipment.
Studies have shown that only installing publicly available AEDs without paying attention to CPR cannot improve the survival rate of OHCA. [6] CPR and AED training is also considered important links in implementing an AED program for business. They are incorporated into the brochure of Implementing an AED Program by the American Heart Association. In addition to mastering the industry-leading technology, Mindray AED is also a user-friendly AED device. The available training packages allow you to regularly organize CPR and AED training courses to improve employees' rescue awareness of SCA. Mindray AED combined with ResQNavi technology provides interactive rescue guidance and continuous CPR encouragement, conducive to carrying out SCA rescue gradually and orderly and giving rescuers confidence in the rescue process.
Anyway, business owners should consider the AED purchase and plan for the AED program that includes the AED training for designated employees, as it will ultimately create a safer working environment for all.
References:
[1] Early recognition of sudden cardiac arrest in athletes during sports activity. Neth Heart J, January 2018, 26(1): 21–25. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5758452/ (Accessed: 27 September 2021)
[2] Automated External Defibrillators Required at Places of Public Assembly. Oregon Laws. Volume 12, Title 36, Chapter 431A, Section 431A.455. Available at: https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_431A.455 (Accessed: 27 September 2021
[3] Consensus document regarding cardiovascular safety at sports arenas: Position stand from the European Association of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation (EACPR), section of Sports Cardiology. European Heart Journal, Volume 32, Issue 17, September 2011, Pages 2119–2124. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehr178 (Accessed: 27 September 2021)
[4] European Resuscitation Council Guidelines 2021: Epidemiology of cardiac arrest in Europe. Thorsten Gräsner Resuscitation Journal. Volume 161, March 24 2021, Pages 61-79. Available at: https://www.resuscitationjournal.com/article/S0300-9572(21)00060-5/fulltext#secsect0030 (Accessed: 27 September 2021)
[5] Public Locations of Cardiac Arrest. Implications for Public Access Defibrillation. Circulation. Volume 97, June 1998, Pages 2106-2109. Available at: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/01.CIR.97.21.2106 (Accessed: 27 September 2021)
[6] Location of Cardiac Arrest in a City Center. Strategic Placement of Automated External Defibrillators in Public Locations. Circulation. Volume 120, August 2009, Pages 510-517. Available at: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.108.843755 (Accessed: 27 September 2021)