Six Baldwin County private schools receive defibrillators

Six Baldwin County private schools receive defibrillators

“AEDs save lives.” That phrase has been repeated over and over at meetings that a committee of Baldwin County folks have had over the past few months. They met with one purpose – to put Automatic External Defibrillators in area schools that otherwise might not be able to obtain them.
The commitee recently presented AEDs to representatives from Bayshore Christian School, Fairhope; Central Christian School, Christ the King Catholic School, Snook Christian Academy, South Baldwin Christian Academy, and St. Benedict Catholic School.
AED Committee member Amy Cockrell with Heart for Athletes has been an advocate for AEDs ever since one saved her then 16 year old son’s life in 2013. Robert P. Robichaux, Jr., M.D., an electrophysiologist with Cardiology Associates, frequently hears stories of how AEDs in schools and churches have been used to save lives.
“Incidents happen more often than most people realize, and there have been multiple AED saves of children, coaches, parents, and faculty at schools,” said Dr. Robichaux.
When he heard about Amy’s nonprofit group, he knew that they were a great match. “Here’s a group that is committed to educating school staff on how to save lives, and we already knew that AEDs, when available and used properly, can do just that.” So when the Cardiac STAT program of Baldwin County held an EKG training class for health professionals earlier this year, Dr. Robichaux asked for donations to Heart for Athletes.
“Not every private school can afford them,” said David Godfrey, RN, manager of the Heart Center at South Baldwin Regional Medical Center, “and that’s where this committee comes in.”