Life-saving first aid has come to the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore.
The Maryland Port Administration has purchased 13 automated external defibrillators, for use on people in cardiac arrest. Mostly first responders to port events, the Maryland Transportation Authority police were chosen to operate the AEDs. Program coordination and management will be charged to the MPA Safety/Risk Management Office.
One AED will be placed in each police vehicle that provides round-the-clock patrols of the port and the World Trade Center.
During emergency use, an automatic analysis from the AED will advise the rescuer whether or not a shock is needed to restore normal heart rhythm to a patient. An AED cannot help a patient who is in asystole, where there is no electrical activity in the heart.
MTA police officers who are certified in CPR and use of AEDs will operate the heart-saving device.
“Thousands of people work at our port every day. As first responders, it is critical that the [MTA] police have as much training and equipment as possible should they encounter an individual having a heart attack,” port Executive Director Brooks Royster said in a statement.
There is some risk of electric shock to the operator and others if the operator has not been trained to avoid touching the patient. Other risks include skin burns from the electrodes, abnormal heart rhythms and blood clots.
Every year, sudden cardiac arrest claims the lives of more than 250,000 people. Yet, if an AED is dispensed within the first few minutes of sudden cardiac arrest, a patient?s survival rate may be as high as 80 to 90 percent, medical studies show.
A longtime export analyst and consultant, Joseph R. Hughes? maritime-related articles have appeared in numerous publications. He is a native Baltimorean. E-mail your questions to him at [email protected].
