Stay Safe: Ensure the Hotel You Stay at Has an Automated External Defibrillator on Site

When most people check out brochures or websites of a hotel they are planning to travel to they check to see if the hotel has a pool, or a restaurant, or nonsmoking rooms, but very few people think to check if the hotel has automated external defibrillators (AED) on site. Does your favorite hotel have AED devices on site to save lives if a heart attack occurs?

Taking the time to check if the hotel offers this life saving device is a wise idea. Heart attacks and heart arrhythmias strike at any time in any place. An automated external defibrillator in a hotel may save a life if a guest passes out due to a heart problem while on vacation or business there.

The stress of being away from home, whether on vacation or business, may aggravate an existing heart condition or be a factor in a first heart attack. The odds of surviving a heart incident are vastly improved if an automated external defibrillator is on site in a hotel. It may take the EMTs too long to arrive; with an AED on site, hotel staff or guests could start life saving procedures immediately.

The Wall Street Journal reports that many hotels worry about liability issues if they install automated external defibrillators. Perhaps hotels should worry more about the lives of their guests. Hotels should put human lives first. AED devices save lives. They help keep patients alive until EMTs arrive to transport the patient to the hospital.

AED devices cost only $1,200 to $2,000 according to the Wall Street Journal. They save lives and they should be in every hotel. Many states require AED devices in gyms and they should also be required in hotels.

It is a tragic situation indeed if a doctor is in a hotel and could respond to a hotel page to help administer use of an AED, but there is no AED on site. Hotels are often full of doctors, nurses, and other medical workers attending seminars or on vacation. In any typical hotel there would probably be someone there as a guest with medical expertise who could respond to an announcement summoning help to administer an AED. Also, hotel staff should be trained to use the AED, just as they should be trained to know how to administer CPR.

The American Heart Association now holds its meetings only at hotels equipped with AED devices according to the Wall Street Journal. More businesses should follow this strategy. Doing so would save lives.

The Wall Street Journal reports that "A 2004 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that public access to AEDs doubled the chances of survival in cardiac-arrest cases."

My mother had a heart condition that used to make her pass out unexpectedly. Once it happened so quickly over dinner that the person with her said one second they were conversing and the next second her head was down on the table. In a situation like this time is of the essence. The sooner the heart is started up again the less damage to the body and brain. If someone passes out in a public place an AED may save their life.

Every city should work to pass laws requiring AED devices in public buildings, including hotels. Every hotel should have an AED on site.

When checking out hotels ask the hotel if they offer an automated external defibrillator. If the hotel does not offer an AED you may want to stay elsewhere. Medical emergencies too often result in death when they do not have to. An AED doesn't cost much and it saves lives. It is quite simple, stay at a hotel that has an AED and if you or a loved one suffers a heart attack there will be a much higher chance of survival.

Research the life saving impact of AED devices and work to get them installed in hotels, schools, and offices or anywhere else you or loved ones spend time. Your effort to install AEDs will save lives.

Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123543325221454001.html