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Perkiomen Valley SD partners with Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia on AED placements, CERT drills planned
Summary
The district is working with Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to become a heart‑safe district, add AEDs and create Certified Emergency Response Team (CERT) plans with a target to complete initial steps by May 30.
Perkiomen Valley School District staff said the district is partnering with Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to develop cardiac emergency planning, add automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and establish Certified Emergency Response Team (CERT) procedures in each building.
The update matters because AED placement, trained responders and regular drills are primary measures schools use to respond to cardiac emergencies.
Erin Dreisbach, supervisor of Health and Wellness, said representatives from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia toured Perkiomen Valley buildings on Dec. 18 and recommended additional AED placements. “They came out to our district Dec. 18, and they walked through our buildings to identify and recommend different placements for AEDs,” Dreisbach said.
Dreisbach said the hospital’s recommendations would add one AED to each elementary school, one to each middle school and two additional AEDs for the high school. She clarified these devices would be additions to older, working AED units already in place. “They're in addition to. The current AEDs that we have, they're a little older, but they're in working condition,” she said.
Next steps described by Dreisbach include assembling building staff to serve on CERT teams, creating a district cardiac emergency response plan, seeking district approval of the CERT plan, and conducting annual CERT drills in every building. The district team aims to complete the first set of steps by May 30.
A board member asked whether the new AEDs replace older units; Dreisbach said the devices are additive. No formal vote or procurement details were presented at the meeting.
District staff said they will review the hospital's recommendations and return with a plan for placement and training; no budget figures or vendor contracts were disclosed.
