Kenston among schools getting defibrillators as part of University Hospitals’ AEDin3 program

This week, in a first round of distribution,15 Northeast Ohio high schools that qualified for free automated external defibrillators as part of the University Hospitals “AEDin3” program were presented the “life-saving” equipment at the UH Drusinsky Sports Medicine Institute at UH Ahuja Medical Center in Beachwood.

According to the health care system, about 90 percent of the 350,000 people who experience cardiac arrest outside of a hospital each year will not survive, and the use of AEDs dramatically increases the odds of survival.

As part of the initiative, athletic directors led the AEDin3 challenge for their programs, conducting drills and getting the devices to fields and other sports venue areas in under three minutes with the goal to most effectively deliver an electrical shock, or defibrillation, to re-establish an effective heart rhythm.

Institutions that can’t beat the AEDin3 time limit are eligible for AEDs and training at no cost, UH officials confirmed.

Schools in attendance on Jan. 9 included Bedford, Cuyahoga Falls, Grand Valley, John Hay, Kenston, Normandy, Ravenna, Streetsboro, Valley Forge and Western Reserve.

After recently partaking in the challenge, Kenston officials learned the school was not equipped to care for someone in cardiac arrest safely.

That changed soon after.

“Our athletic trainer, Viviani Deubel, really is the one to thank for Kenston getting this — she’s placed (with us) through our partnership with UH and we’ve always had a really great relationship,” said Kenston Athletic Director Reid Guarnieri.

“This program allows us to expand some of our coverages in our facilities and to have more safety outdoors in place,” he added. “It’s (also) a nice feeling to be one of the first few (schools) selected.”

Launched in partnership with the Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Brown cornerback Denzel Ward’s “Make Them Know Your Name Foundation” and Kaulig Companies, the program serves to ensure every school in Northeast Ohio is equipped with the latest technology and training.

Officials added that a second wave of distribution is set to follow.

“We are thankful to our partners to be able to connect athletes with the tools for an effective emergency action plan in the case of cardiac arrest,” said AEDin3 founder Dr. Robert Flannery, UH orthopedic surgeon and assistant physician to the Browns.

“We’re excited about the program, and while we’ve initially really focused on Northeast Ohio, just through word of mouth, this week, we’ve had our first out-of-state request from a school in Michigan and a school in New York,” he continued. “We’re starting to see that this is something worthwhile and needed, and something we hope everyone is doing already, and being able to provide this added incentive is great.

“We’ve been successful to this point, but we won’t be an overall success until every venue across the state is covered.”