August 20, 2001—BOMA has joined with the American Heart Association to improve survival from sudden cardiac arrest nationwide by establishing public access defibrillation (PAD) programs in private commercial office buildings. These PAD programs provide early cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and early defibrillation using automatic external defibrillators (AEDs)—computerized devices that can shock a heart that has been stopped by an abnormal rhythm.
A PAD program makes AEDs available with a trained first responder team in public and/or private places where there is a reasonable risk of someone having a cardiac arrest and where emergency medical service (EMS) systems would be unable to reach a victim within five minutes. The American Heart Association developed the Heartsaver AED course specifically designed to train laypersons in CPR and the use of an AED.
Based on the recommendations of the American Heart Association, BOMA will encourage the industry to incorporate the four key elements of a PAD program when they place AEDs within their buildings: 1) training designated rescuers to perform CPR and use an AED; 2) having physician oversight to help ensure quality control; 3) integrating with the local Emergency Medical Services (EMS) system; and 4) using and maintaining AEDs according to the manufacturer’s specifications.
BOMA International’s full position statement on AEDs can be found online.
