Got a question for you crusing types...
 

"Vic Smith" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 9 Apr 2007 11:23:08 -0700, "Capt. JG"
wrote:



I've been watching the prices, but even $950 is just too high. I'm
certified
in their use, but I just can't justify it, since 90% of the sailing I do
is
within easy response range. I ask about known medical conditions before we
leave the dock, but of course anything can happen.

As you say, some of these medical aids are a judgement call. There
was a great story around here (it was in Deerfield, IL) in 2001 where
a healthy 13 year old Little Leaguer got hit in the chest by a liner
and it stopped his heart. Two physicians watching the game couldn't
get it started and the kid was a goner. In the meantime a distraught
woman walked away from the scene and saw a Deerfield police car
cruising nearby, and she waved him down. The department had just
bought a defib and it happened to be in that car.
The cop quickly got the boy's heart going, and he fully recovered.
One of those miracles, it seems.

--Vic


I remember that story... it really is a judgement call. Assuming you have a
limited amount of money, it seems like it would be better spent on simple
upgrades/fixes like maintaining thru-hulls, replacing rigging. I'm betting a
cost/benefit analysis would show that.


--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

Got a question for you crusing types...
 

On Mon, 9 Apr 2007 11:23:08 -0700, "Capt. JG"
wrote:



I've been watching the prices, but even $950 is just too high. I'm certified
in their use, but I just can't justify it, since 90% of the sailing I do is
within easy response range. I ask about known medical conditions before we
leave the dock, but of course anything can happen.

As you say, some of these medical aids are a judgement call. There
was a great story around here (it was in Deerfield, IL) in 2001 where
a healthy 13 year old Little Leaguer got hit in the chest by a liner
and it stopped his heart. Two physicians watching the game couldn't
get it started and the kid was a goner. In the meantime a distraught
woman walked away from the scene and saw a Deerfield police car
cruising nearby, and she waved him down. The department had just
bought a defib and it happened to be in that car.
The cop quickly got the boy's heart going, and he fully recovered.
One of those miracles, it seems.

--Vic

Got a question for you crusing types...
 

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 08 Apr 2007 22:20:31 GMT, wrote:

So legal aspect will have to be cleared up accordingly. Otherwise some
good
Samaritans could be suit for wrong doing.

I'm not exactly sure where you live, but states have Good Samaritan
laws. As long as you help in good faith, and the simple fact that you
help is evidence of good faith, you are in the clear. In most states,
any legal filing related to emergency medical treatment has to pass a
medical review board and as long as it was in good faith, they never
pass it through to the courts. If you have emergency medical
training, the only criteria is that you don't exceed the limits of the
training - like giving a cardiac patient a drug or start an IV if your
training is at the First Responder or EMT-Basic level.

I have personal experience with this so I'm fairly familiar with the
process. :)


Having a defib unit aboard may negate the Good Samaritan considerations and
legally hold you, the boat owner, to training and certification on the use
and care of the unit.

Best to consult the experts on this, including your lawyer. It is indeed a
sad world we live in that we have to go to those extremes to protect our
self from losing everything we own when trying to save someone's life.

Got a question for you crusing types...
 

On Mon, 9 Apr 2007 14:46:10 -0700, "Capt. JG"
wrote:

I remember that story... it really is a judgement call. Assuming you have a
limited amount of money, it seems like it would be better spent on simple
upgrades/fixes like maintaining thru-hulls, replacing rigging. I'm betting a
cost/benefit analysis would show that.

Depends on your circumstances. If the boat is already in decent shape
but there is someone in your family or crew with a cardiac risk, the
defib might make a lot of sense. I knew a guy who died from a heart
attack on his boat while sailing the Chesapeake. He had already had
bypass surgery once and was a prime candidate for future trouble.
Money was not a big concern for him, having quite a few serious
patents to his credit.

If he'd had a defib aboard, and his girl friend knew how to use it,
things might have turned out differently.

Got a question for you crusing types...
 

On Apr 8, 4:20 pm, Wayne.B wrote:
On Sun, 08 Apr 2007 19:26:16 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing

wrote:
How many of you cruisers carry an automatic defibrillator onboard as
part of your emergency medical supplies?

I've heard of a few but I'm not yet among them. How much training is
required to use them correctly, and how large are they?

I spent 20 years as an EMT (including wilderness EMT) and toward the
end, we travelled routinely with an AED, if not the full-fledged
defibrilator. Very little training is required to operate an AED, and
what there is focuses on setting up and attaching the machine. The
rest is truly automatic.

Will it help? Based upon what I read, it is likely to be the only
thing that works. An immediate shock with an AED is likely to convert
any rhythm that is capable of being converted, at which point CPR
compressions will keep someone alive until advanced care arrives. CPR
alone is ineffective in the absence of defibrilation; they have done
studies and keep changing the protocols and just eliminated the
breaths so that you just compress the heart to continue circulation.
Unless you are able to defibrilate the heart, forget it.

With helicopter rescue now routinely available, the AED/CPR
combination is a good option for someone within 30 to 60 minutes of
advanced care (once you get loaded into the helicopter, the level of
care is really close to that available in many ER's). Without the
AED, that window of opportunity closes to about 15 minutes and maybe
as little as 6 (the time frame we normally aimed for).

What model? The least expensive is as good as the most expensive.
While there are models with lots of bells and whistles, they don't
provide any option that is worth the expense. We purposely bought
simple models for police cars and public places because the options
simply confused the operators. Hook it up and let it do its thing.

I am also a lawyer and spent 7 years as the legal representative on
the Maine State EMS board. Don't worry about liability. The AED
won't shock where none is required. Call EMS and use your best
judgment.

Steve Hayes
Maine