Description
It could be your athlete or family member at a middle school game that needs an AED to save their life. I am the Head Athletic Trainer at Lake Norman High School and I’m advocating to get AEDs specifically for our middle school athletic departments. Eight out of the 9 middle school do not have this necessary life-saving tool. Access to an AED at any given time is critical to the safety of student athletes, and sometimes proves to be a moving target or secured behind a locked door. We have 2090 student athletes at our 9 middle school campuses and with the obstacles coaches face it leaves so many events without an AED within 2-3 mins of a SCA. This is not acceptable for our student athletes.
All Iredell-Statesville Schools campuses also host several community events like youth league athletics, local churches, FCA events, and more. When there are multiple events occurring on the same day, our school system currently has the 1 school AED to be prioritized to the venue in this order: Football, Basketball, Track, Soccer, Cross Country, Baseball, Wrestling, Tennis, Softball, and Volleyball ((based on info from National Center for Catastrophic Injury – UNC-Chapel-Hill). Six of these sports are all in the spring season and not always on the same property.
It is vital that we do better for our student athletes and our community. Your consideration for this grant is greatly appreciated, and together we will resolve this nationwide threat of SCA in our schools.