The Township High School District 214 Board of Education Thursday voted to buy 16 automated external defibrillators for its eight schools.
The portable devices can save lives when a person suffers a heart attack. The defibrillators automatically check a patient’s vital signs and administer an electric shock if needed.
The board also mandated that an implementation plan and training schedule be put in place before two of the devices are installed in each of the Arlington Heights-based district’s schools.
While the defibrillators are made to be “idiot-proof,” said Mike O’Brien, purchasing supervisor for the district, “if you’re not trained to use it, you really shouldn’t.”
The defibrillators, which are expected to cost a total of $48,000, are to be installed by fall. Training is expected to cost an additional $2,000.
