This is Maritza Cabrera De Granada, LPN standing next to the Philips HeartStart Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) she used to save a life at her school!
Maritza is the school nurse at Memorial Middle School in Orlando Florida. She came to work Monday like every other day. Around 9:00am Maritza became aware of the emergency taking place in the room down the hall from the nurses office where a person had gone into cardiac arrest.
In cardiac arrest, the heart is not effectively pumping blood thru the body. The lack of blood flow causes the person to lose consciousness and their breathing might be irregular or absent altogether. The coworker was unresponsive. The most common cause of cardiac arrest is ventricular fibrillation which is an uncoordinated contraction of the heart. The only effective treatment for this condition is a shock from a defibrillator. Luckily Maritza's school district, Orange County Public Schools had installed an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) within a few feet of where the emergency was happening.
Maritza removed the AED from the cabinet, brought it to the patient, unzipped the case and listened to the voice prompts. The AED directs the rescuer thru the entire phase of the rescue.
Although Maritza is a trained nurse, the AED she used is designed to be used by ordinary people as well as medical professionals. In fact, the unit Martiza used is so easy to use, sixth grade students demonstrated proficiency with the device after only brief training. CPR classes now teach how to use an AED and the units are being installed in public places like shopping malls, casinos, fitness facilities, airports and anywhere else where large groups of people congregate.
Maritza said she was "just doing her job". She is a true hero.
The unit Maritza saved the coworkers life with is the Philips HeartStart OnSite Automatic External Defibrillator (AED).
For more information visit: http://www.TeamEmergencyResponse.com
