[Publib] Defibrillators

Mon Dec 11 10:33:00 EST 2006

No disrespect intended to anyone here, but any individual who knows
about AED training will know that unit does not cause any more harm to a
person who is in cardiac arrest.  The unit does not shock a person
unintentionally, because it assesses the person's heart rhythm first and
if no shock is advised the AED will not shock, purposely or
accidentally.  We initially got that response from staff in the
beginning too, but they did not know their facts first, before they
jumped to the wrong conclusions.  AED training is not minimal training
either.  You must complete all of the requirements before receiving
certification.  
We are not being asked to replace medical personnel, just to help keep
someone alive until they arrive.  Besides, how often would an event like
this happen?  Hopefully, we will never have to use this training.  But
if you could be the one to help someone in an emergency situation,
wouldn't you want to?  Or if you were the one who needed assistance and
it was a matter of a trained individual being the only one to keep you
alive until medical personnel arrived, wouldn't you want them to able to
help you?  
No one is asking you to replace medical personnel, just assist your
co-workers and patrons in an emergency situation until someone more
highly trained arrives.
Do you train your staff how to respond to a fire, tornado, missing
child, etc.?  Or should you just wait for the fire department to arrive
before you evacuate the building?  Or wait until a tornado reaches your
facility before going to the basement?  Or maybe we should wait until a
missing child is gone for more than 24 hours to respond to the
situation.  
Why can't the best line of defense start with us?  I feel that taking
the responsibility of offering this service to our staff and community
is showing that we care enough about them to help them if needed.
Customer service does not end behind the desk.  As I have stated
earlier, these instances do not, and will not happen every day.  So the
training that we receive is appropriate to the situations that may
arise.  We must know all of the facts and be trained, and not worry
about litigation when it comes to being able to help save someone's
life.

Tracey Eagleson
Jackson District Library
244 W. Michigan Ave.
Jackson, MI 49201
Phone: 517-788-4099
Fax: 517-788-6024
eaglesontl at jackson.lib.mi.us

~It is better to be hated for who you are, than to be loved for who you
are not~ 
>From the song "Help Somebody" by Van Zant

-----Original Message-----
From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org
[mailto:publib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Edward Trever
Sent: Monday, December 11, 2006 9:15 AM
To: Reed Winterbourne; jcasey at oaklawnlibrary.org; publib at webjunction.org
Subject: Re: [Publib] Defibrillators

My concern is that libraries are now being expected to provide medical 
service without medical training.  My first comment was more of an 
indictment against the governing body that simply placed the AED in our 
facility and gave us minimal training and considered these actions 
sufficient for resolving serious health concerns voiced by the public.

The AED may be useful but we were also told to provide CPR which could 
involve a cracked sternum and/or other medical consequences.  The
medical 
trainers who brushed off the concerns of workshop attendees with "You
can't 
kill a dead man" were negligent in their duties.

With the shortage of staffing in some libraries, medical training is not

among our priorities.  Library administration does not have medical 
expertise and it is already difficult for staff to stay abreast on a
wide 
variety of library concerns  besides the major added responsibity
outside of 
their normal duties.

As a son of a doctor who practiced for over 30 years, I don't believe I
am 
taking this subject lightly.

Ed Trever
Lincoln County Library Director
306 W. Main St.
Lincolnton, NC 28092
(704) 735-8044
Fax (704) 732-9042
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Reed Winterbourne" <the_reeder at hotmail.com>
To: <jcasey at oaklawnlibrary.org>; <publib at webjunction.org>
Sent: Sunday, December 10, 2006 2:51 PM
Subject: RE: [Publib] Defibrillators

>I hope to hell that you guys don't ever need to be defibrilated and
don't 
>get it (even with an AED available) because somebody is waiting for 911
to 
>respond.  I just do NOT get your logic.  The AED is designed so that it

>WILL NOT SHOCK someone who isn't in fibrilation.
>
> Reed
>
>
>>From: "James Casey" <jcasey at oaklawnlibrary.org>
>>To: "Edward Trever" <etrever at lincolncounty.org>,"PUBLIB" 
>><publib at webjunction.org>
>>Subject: RE: [Publib] Defibrillators
>>Date: Fri, 8 Dec 2006 08:52:31 -0600
>>
>>Some of our local Villages require Library personnel to be trained on
>>the defibrillators and others (like Oak Lawn) have insisted that
Library
>>staff NOT use such devices and simply call 911 ASAP so that trained
>>professionals can use them properly.  Ed's statement below makes a lot
>>of sense to me.  Library staff may mistake an epileptic seizure or bad
>>reaction from some drug for a heart attack and end up doing more
damage
>>than good. Our own Emergency and Special Situation Manual focuses on
>>calling 911 first and not intervening personally when emergencies
occur.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>James B. Casey ---- My own views
>>
>>Director of Oak Lawn Public Library
>>
>>ALA Council Member
>>
>>
>>
>>________________________________
>>
>>From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org
>>[mailto:publib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Edward Trever
>>Sent: Thursday, December 07, 2006 12:23 PM
>>To: PUBLIB
>>Subject: Re: [Publib] Defibrillators
>>
>>
>>
>>At my last library, I also had a trainer who said this.  Unfortunately
>>it's not the dead person I am worried about killing.  It may be
maiming
>>the live person that I am performing untrained medical proceduers on.
>>
>>
>>
>>We only had one mass three-hour training and could have had no
>>individualized practice if we had no incentive to do so.  Once the
>>defibrillators were in place we had no more training.  I am very wary
of
>>such a practice with no truly trained personnel.
>>
>>
>>
>>Ed Trever
>>Lincoln County Library Director
>>306 W. Main St.
>>Lincolnton, NC 28092
>>(704) 735-8044
>>Fax (704) 732-9042
>>
>
>
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