Some of the questions raised after 14-year-old Landon Payton suffered a medical emergency at Marshall Middle School last week and later died, were whether the school has an AED, whether it was working, and whether the personnel on hand knew how to use it.
The district reported Monday that an inspection showed 170 of its automated external defibrillators, used to revive someone who has suffered sudden cardiac arrest, are not working either because they lack working batteries or other parts. The district has ordered parts and each AED will be inspected again by the end of August.
At a brief press conference Monday, HISD Chief of Public Affairs and Communications Alex Elizondo refused to answer any specific questions about Landon’s case, saying it was out of respect for the family’s privacy and citing possible litigation.
Of the 1,038 AEDs in HISD schools, it was determined that 868 are working. HISD has declined to say whether a working unit was in the gym area when Landon was stricken.
In most cases the AEDS that are not working need new batteries. Elizondo said parts have been ordered and all AEDs will be re-inspected before the end of August.
Elizondo said there is an average of three working AEDS per school and at least one on every campus. She also said at each school several employees are trained on their use. Similarly every campus has someone trained in CPR.
A change sparked by Landon’s death is that the oversight on this equipment will move to Central Office personnel. It had been the responsibility of principals and “work location supervisors.” (someone who notifies HR when someone changes their job title or moves to another school,)
In response to a question asked at the press conference HISD issued a further statement that if an AED is not working, it is no left on the wall.
Regarding District AED policy and practice update: If an AED machine is not fully functioning it is taken off the wall until the necessary parts arrive and the AED is again fully operational. A note directing trained staff to the nearest AED is then put in place of the machine that is temporarily out of service.
All staff trained to work with the AED machines are notified and aware of where the building’s working AEDs are located. The staff designated to do monthly AED inspections are the same staff who are trained to use AEDs and they are constantly aware of the status of each machine.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
