U.S. Companies should be proud of their safety initiatives and the heightened consciousness towards making workplaces “heart-safe” environments. With AED or public defibrillator programs implemented these corporations are able protect their employees, customers and visited from sudden cardiac arrest death. At the same time, savvy safety teams, risk managers and human resources departments realize that by implementing such programs they are also mitigating risk.
As professionals in the industry, we are often asked about the legal ramifications of placing AEDs in facilities and vehicles. Some are concerned that they can be sued for having AEDs if a save attempt is not successful. Most professionals agree that with improved Good Samaritan Laws, modified indemnification policies and comprehensive program management offerings (with Medical Oversight and asset tracking) the protection of the law is quite good. On the other hand those organizations that have not yet invested in AEDs are exposed to risk. If companies don’t keep up with “standard of care” within their segment they can certainly be opened to the threat of legal ramifications.
Beyond the discussion about liability, deploying life-saving AED devices is certainly the right thing to do. In settings with ample AEDs, CPR-trained responders and a well-designed program survival rates have been shown to exceed 50% versus the bleak national averages of just 5% or less.
Furthermore, AEDs are becoming more affordable and even easier to use. AED costs for corporations are down significantly with an average price of about $1500. Large corporate deployments with bulk discounts applied can sometimes drive the price down to less than $1000 per AED. The AED manufacturers have done a remarkable job enhancing device usability with ease-of-use features that make the rescue easier. Watch a demonstration or video about AEDs and you’ll quickly learn that the voice prompts and visual prompts make saving a life more simple than you might imagine.
AED One-Stop Shop has an approach which is very consultative. We arm our customers with facts and trends and much, much more to help them decide on whether to invest in AEDs. Beyond that, we help chose the right device type and complementary offerings like CPR and program management. This customer-oriented philosophy is helping to make AED One-Stop Shop one of the very fastest growing brands in the industry. Email us at Sales@AEDOneStopShop.com and we’ll help you to implement a workplace AED program.
