Welcome to my J.A.M. (Just Ask Mike) Session, a weekly column where I answer your basic electrical questions. If you’re a newbie who’s never plugged in a shore power cord (or ask – what’s a shore power cord?), or wonder why your daughter’s hair dryer keeps tripping the circuit breaker, this column is for you. Send your questions to Mike Sokol at mike (at) noshockzone.org with the subject line – JAM. Today I discuss AEDs and drone delivery of them.
Dear Mike,
I saw something recently about a drone delivering an AED to someone having a heart attack. I worry about my husband’s heart condition while we’re out camping. Is this going to be commonplace soon? Should we get an AED to keep in our RV while traveling? —Lucy R.
Dear Lucy,
Yes, I saw that press release as well. It was an amazing coordination of modern technologies that saved a man’s life. It only took 3 minutes for a drone to deliver a lightweight AED to the victim on the street, and a bystander was able to use it to save the man’s life.
Heart-Attack Patient Saved by a Defibrillator Delivering Drone
Read the full story HERE
A company from Sweden, Everdrone, makes reaching hard-to-reach areas easier with its Emergency Aerial Delivery (EMADE) service drone. The drone was developed with the Center for Resuscitation Science at Karolinska Institutet, SOS Alarm, and Region Västra Götaland.
EMADE service is designed to allow emergency dispatchers to send a drone carrying the device to a caller’s home, kickstarting the medical response process before the ambulance arrives at the location.
EMADE was put to its most difficult test ever on December 9 last year, according to Everdrone. A 71-year-old man in Trollhättan, Sweden, suffered an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest while shoveling snow.
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Could this technology save your life?
While an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) definitely can save your life from a heart attack or shock/electrocution, don’t count on a drone delivering it to you in a campground just yet. The story was about the first time this combination of technologies came together in an actual emergency to help save a life.
What should I do right now?
Do you know where the nearest AED is located? If not, now is the time to find it. Hopefully, whatever campground you’re staying at will have one in the office, so confirm its location. If it doesn’t have one, then ask them why not.
Remember, if you or your partner is having a heart attack, minutes count. So you don’t want to be looking around for an AED during an emergency.
And because many campgrounds are built at remote locations, it could take longer than normal for an ambulance and EMT to arrive. To have the best chance of surviving a heart attack, the ambulance needs to respond within 10 minutes. So if your campground doesn’t have an AED, perhaps you should get your own.
Should you buy your own AED?
If you or someone who camps with you has a heart condition, I think that purchasing your own AED and traveling with it can save a life. I don’t have any suggestions for which brand and model is the best for you, so you’ll need to do your own research. But HERE’s a good place to start.
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Study up
I’ve been pitching the idea of adding basic AED/CPR classes to follow my RVelectricity Seminars, but so far nobody is interested. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t learn on your own. Call your local fire company and ask if there’s any basic Compression-Only CPR and AED classes in your area. You don’t need to become certified to use an AED
And remember to get some training on how an AED works and when to use it. And ALWAYS call 9-1-1 first and give them your exact location, including the number of your campsite if you’re out in your RV.
Read more
For more info on how to use CPR for electric shock victims, read my previous article HERE.
OK, everyone. Remember that electricity is a useful and powerful force, so we all need to pay attention to safety precautions while using it.
Let’s play safe out there….
Send your questions to me at my new RVelectricity forum here.
Mike Sokol is an electrical and professional sound expert with 50+ years in the industry. His excellent book RV Electrical Safety is available at Amazon.com. For more info on Mike’s qualifications as an electrical expert, click here.
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I have an AED from a shuttered dental office put out of business by NY’s bad Corona management. I asked for it, and they donated it to me actually FOR this RV purpose! I have stickers on nose and compartment doors to announce it’s availability. So, this article is not crazy for the suggestion. Replacing battery/pads on used units is still cheaper than a new setup.
One other related suggestion: I carry a small pill vial on my keychain with aspirin and certain Rx heart meds – *with 911 direction*, those meds can be in the victim’s system in moments when minutes count. I take it farther, but recommend at least the aspirin be ON YOU in an emergency.
I expect that there are LOTS of people who don’t know that “Hands Only” CPR even exists. If many more people are made aware of this “new” procedure (which is well over a decade old) it will become much more main stream with more people willing to get trained.
Hi Mike,
An AED does not need a doctor’s prescription. The American Heart Association, offers a CPR/AED and Stop the Bleed Courses. Also, there is a “Friends and Family” CPR/AED class offered by many fire companies and rescue squads. Typically, the Friends & Family are offered for free and serve as an introductory course.
Depending on the manufacturer, the pads last between three and five years and the batteries last for the same. Pads need to be replaced after every use as well. Most of the AEDs are “user friendly” and will not offer shock if not needed and also instruct the operator as soon as the AED case is opened or turned on.
Having an AED used, increases the survivability rate of the patient. Time is of the essence!
I am an instructor for our CERT team, and the importance of learning CPR and how to preform it is a MUST for anyone travelling in a remote area. Do it for someone you love!
Excellent! Thanks, Mike! Have a good afternoon/evening. 😀 –Diane
Millennials full-timing in RVs may think all this info on AEDs and CPR is just for us “boomers. But, having had a son die at 16 from an undiagonsed cardiac arrhythmia and anither have two stents emplaced in an artery at 32, I can assure them, it’s not just an “old people’s disease”!
If your heart condition is bad enough, ask your Cardio Doc about his thoughts of implanting a defibrillator. I have a team with an AED one step behind me for the rest of my life. It knows when to engage before I do.
Having worked the front desk in 4 RV parks, I would not depend on them to have an AED OR be open when you need one! The parks I worked in did NOT have one and when taking reservations nobody asked if we had one…but you should if you’re not buying your own. Then you would know the situation ahead of the need.
Drones have a very limited service area. We’re not talking about the globetrotting military-type drones. We’re talking about drones like the one pictured.
Very true. Eventually there may be drone coverage in remote areas, but that’s likely a decade or more in the future. Don’t count on one bringing you an AED anytime soon.
I also wonder if someone with high risk of a heart attack can have an AED prescribed by their physician which their insurance company will pay for…
It’s called an ICD Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator . The new ones act as a pacemaker 1st, if it can’t correct the heart then it goes into Defibrillator where the heart is hit with a jolt to restart the heart.
It would be a very rare situation where insurance would cover the purchase of an AED. However you night be able to use your Flexibe Savings Account (FSA) or HRA or HSA to cover the cost.
MrD: correct on both accounts. Not done on insurance but AED is absolutely HSA qualified.
AEDs are relatively inexpensive and the instructions and pictures easy to follow. The operation of AEDs are covered in many BLS classes. There has been a push on RVTravel to list RV parks that have storm shelters. I would like to see all parks put the location of their AED and how to access their AED prominently displayed on their brochures, campground maps. Lets think about it…most RV parks are in rural setting with a longer ambulance response time, poor cell phone coverage can also be a problem, many many RV’ers are at risk, I would like to see RV shows also offer free BLS classes and you receive a sticker which you can prominently display on your RV. Most AEDs cost under $2000 a hefty price for individuals However a crowded RV park making $75/ night on each spot….priceless.
I know that I’ve driven around some large campgrounds for more than 10 minutes just looking for a specific campsite. It would be much quicker to have someone at the campground office grab an AED, jump on a golf cart, and render aid at a campsite. I wonder if campground personnel get AED and CPR training. I’m guessing not…
For the ‘minimal’ cost of an AED, it would be a good idea if he is at high risk. Learning CPR is the first step. Call your local hospital and see if they offer classes.
The Red Cross has classes on CPR and AED use. Classroom instruction and online classes are available.
It is also important to know that the battery life in the AED is effected by temperatures. The pads also have a life span and need to be replaced per the manufacturers specifications.