Looking Out for the Hearts of Danville: Defibrillators for Schools

Gregg Schnepple's heart happened to be in the right place when he came 
across a press release about defibrillators in public schools late 
last year.

Intrigued with the possibility of setting up life-saving stations in 
Danville, the San Ramon Regional Hospital Foundation executive director immediately contacted San Ramon Valley Unified Superintendent 
of Schools Steven Enoch.

"It was really incredible the way it 
happened," said Schnepple. "I called up Steve and he said, 'You are 
not going to believe this, but right now I am looking for grant 
funding for the very same thing.'"

The foundation was trying to find a 
way to work with the school district last year and had not quite hit 
on the right note, but this idea just took off.

In a multi-agency push from the Danville community and with the help 
of a $10,000 grant from the San Ramon Regional Hospital Foundation, 
the city will join the national trend of installing defibrillators at 
elementary, high school and middle school campuses this year. At the moment, out of the 35 schools in the San Ramon Valley Unifed School District, 21 schools have AED's.

According to the American Red Cross, sudden cardiac arrest strikes
 over 300,000 victims annually. In these cases, fewer than 5 percent
 of the victims survive, largely because of the time it takes for emergency medical services to reach the scene. However, cardiac arrest
 is reversible in most cases if an electric shock to the heart is 
administered within a few minutes after an attack with an automated
external defibrillator.

The American Heart Association reports that a victim's chances of survival are reduced by 7 to 10 ten percent
 with every minute that passes without CPR and defibrillation, yet the 
proper and timely use of a defibrillator can improve the chances of survival to
 over 40 percent.

Terry Koehne, San Ramon Valley Unified School District community
 relations director, believes the grant might not only help to 
save lives but speaks to a greater sense of how Danville can come 
together as a community.

"Part of what sets Danville apart from other cities is a willingness
 of people to collaborate on important issues like this," Koehne said. "Student safety and the overall health of the community is on
 everyone's mind and having units like this on campus puts us in a 
better position to save a life."

The grant for defibrillators comes as welcome news in a year of budget 
shortfalls, forecasts of a two-year deficit of approximately
 $30 million and the governor's recent budget proposal that will reduce 
funding to the school district by $6.1 million.

Noting the current economic restraints on the district, Koehne said, "We are in a budget
 crisis the likes of which we have never seen before and the fact that 
a group like the hospital foundation can earmark precious funding for 
a project like this means that they are keeping their eye on the ball."

Still, the cost for purchasing, installing and maintaining defibrillators is
 not nominal and the grant will not ensure that all of the schools are 
equipped with the devices.

"We decided that $10,000 would be able to equip three and possibly 
four schools with defibrillators," said Schnepple. "If we could get a fourth or third
 covered then we knew it was a step in the right direction."

Schnepple said the foundation 
would try to raise enough money to get defibrillators in more schools in the district.

Here is the current list of Danville schools in the San Ramon Valley Unifed School District still without AED's:

Elementary

• John Baldwin
• Creekside
• Tassajara Hills
• Vista Grande

High School

• Del Amigo