OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Long before Buffalo Bills safety, Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest during a live NFL game last January, Roncalli Catholic recognized its need for automated external defibrillator AED machines.
In September 2021, the high school reached out to CHI Immanuel but due to COVID-19 supply chain issues and a chip shortage, Roncalli was forced to rely on just one permanent AED for the whole campus. In the meantime, they were able to use two AEDs on loan from Immanuel.
That changed Monday with the gift of two permanent AEDs presented by CHI Immanuel with the CHI Health Foundation.
“We knew there was a need, and so we worked closely with our booster club and you know, we have amazing families that really built some different connections within our community … and then really connected with the [CHI Health] Foundation to get these AEDs for our school,” said Roncalli Catholic High School President Sean Keisling.
Each new AED costs about $1,200, said Linda Jensen, an EMS liaison and physician surrogate who presented the history of the project in a ceremony at CHI Health Immanuel’s Medical Center campus. But it’s not the dollar value that either party will remember.
“It means so much to me,” said Jensen, whose own brother’s life was saved twice by AEDs being readily available in a cardiac event. “It is a very personal and professional commitment to the community to provide what we need for early resuscitation for someone who suffers a severe, sudden, cardiac arrest.”
Roncalli will keep two of the AEDs on campus permanently, making sure students and staff know where they are located for easy access in an emergency. The third AED will be brought to sporting events under the care of Roncalli’s athletic trainer.
“This is an amazing gift for our school to have two AEDs to maintain the safety, so ultimately our school will be a safer place,” said Keisling. “So when practices are occurring outside or whether they’re occurring inside, everybody knows where the AEDs are, in the event an emergency happens. And we can take lifesaving measures to save someone.”
More than a year and a half after embarking on the project, the permanence of the outcome will long outlast the work it took to get there.
“What a wonderful way to represent what we can do, as a community, and having the right equipment available. We know that good — excellent — CPR and early defibrillation, those are the key to help resuscitate someone successfully, said Jensen.”
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