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Terrebonne schools to train staff on LifeVac choking protocol; kits to be placed in AED cabinets
Summary
School health leaders presented a Terrebonne‑specific choking protocol using the LifeVac device approved for local use by the American Heart Association; the district will train paraeducators this year and place kits in AED cabinets to meet a three‑minute access target.
Mark Torbert introduced a proposal and turned the presentation over to Erin Klingman, a school health official, who described a Terrebonne Parish choking protocol that incorporates the LifeVac device after consultations with the American Heart Association and review of a large American Red Cross study.
Klingman said the parish is an American Heart Association training site and that the local AHA allowed the district to develop a Terrebonne Parish choking protocol that follows AHA classes with an additional local module to implement the LifeVac. "Under no circumstances, the Heimlich maneuver gonna be delayed," Klingman said, explaining the protocol: staff will attempt encouraging coughing and back slaps, begin the Heimlich, activate emergency response and then use the LifeVac when available.
The district plans to provide a training (sample training device) for each school health office and keep the training device separate from the emergency kit. Klingman said classes to renew CPR, first aid and the new LifeVac protocol for paraeducators start Monday; she is working to make four additional nurses certified CPR instructors so the district can expand training to teachers and administrators after paraeducator sessions.
Board members asked practical questions: whether cafeteria staff would be trained (Klingman said they would review school code-blue response roles and that cafeteria staff might receive training), how devices will be stored (Klingman said kits will be placed in AED cabinets to meet a three‑minute response target), and cost/quotes (Klingman said the vendor provided quotes and forms; devices are “not cheap” but affordable within policy constraints).
No formal board vote occurred on the protocol at the meeting; the item was presented as information and implementation planning. Klingman said next steps include ordering additional kits for placement in AED cabinets and rolling out training to paraeducators and then teachers and administrators.
