Portable AED Donation Helps Student Stay Active at Thacher Elementary
Nick Blakely Foundation Expands Lifesaving Reach with First Massachusetts AED
The Nick Blakely Foundation (NBF) has donated a portable automated external defibrillator (AED) to Thacher Elementary School in Attleboro, Massachusetts. This generous gift will allow a 10-year-old student with a heart condition to more fully participate in school activities.
The young student was born with a heart defect that prevents him from taking part in recess, field trips, and other events where he could be far from the school's two existing AED units. An AED is a crucial medical device that can restart the heart in the event of a sudden cardiac arrest emergency.
While Thacher Elementary already had two AEDs on site, they were located too far from the student's classroom for timely access during an emergency. The portable 450P donated by NBF will allow the student to take the life-saving device with him wherever he goes at school.
NBF donated a portable Heartsine Samaritan PAD 450P AED. The compact yet powerful 450P is easy to use and versatile, making it ideal for the school setting. In addition to the AED itself, the foundation provided the school with a 1-year subscription to Arch Medical Direction and Program Management. This service helps ensure the AED program meets all regulatory requirements and best practices.
NBF President, Ryan Brown, with Thacher Elementary School students.
"We are so grateful to the Nick Blakely Foundation for their generosity and for helping make our school safer and more accessible for this student," said Principal Frank Rich. "With this portable AED and program support, he'll have the medical support he needs to join classmates for activities he previously had to miss out on."
NBF raises funds to place AEDs in schools, fields, and public spaces in memory of Nick Blakely, who suffered a sudden cardiac arrest while playing football as a teenager. The nonprofit's mission is to promote widespread AED access and sudden cardiac arrest awareness.
"No parent should have to worry whether proper emergency equipment will be available if their child experiences a medical crisis at school," said Ryan Brown, Nick's brother and the foundation's President. "We're proud this portable 450P AED will allow this young student to more fully participate at Thacher Elementary."
Thacher Elementary staff will receive training on the proper use and maintenance of the new portable AED unit. For information on NBF's life-saving initiatives, go to https://www.nickblakeleyfoundation.org