EUROPACL
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2005
- Messages
- 741
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I don't understand how after a few deaths disney does not install AED's at every ride. It can be anyone that has a heart attack whether or not they are on a ride. This could have saved some of these lives.
... just a thought
I was standing in line to order some furniture at a furniture store and an elderly gentleman in front of me suddenly collapsed on the floor with short shallow gasps spaced out seconds apart. EMS was there in 3 minutes while a couple of people were trying to administer CPR. I suppose the expectation is that every place of business should have one. Disney's settlement with the parents of Daudi Bamuwamye tells me that because they had some AED's on property and the expectation was that they should have had one closer to the "death trap" that M:S is. So you set an expectation and precedence by just bringing one onto property. Now the expection is to have one at every attraction? To properly train any employee who might be near an incident to use it? If it doesn't work, does it open the door to improper training or other issues? I need to buy some stock in the company that makes em.
Declaring that portable heart defibrillators may have saved as many as 40 lives at Disneyland and Disney World or on Disney Cruise Line ships since 650 of them were installed in 2003, the Walt Disney Co. announced just last month that it intends to install 250 more on its properties, including another 200 at Disney World. The company also has trained thousands of employees to use them.
There reportedly were at least two in Animal Kingdom on Tuesday, including one at a first-aid station on Discovery Island, a couple hundred yards away from the Everest ride, and one on a mobile cart.
I would submit that perhaps it is reasonable to have an AED at every attraction which carries a potentially greater risk, such as thrill rides (Space Mountian, ToT, etc.) - and especially Mission Space. While there are warnings for persons with heart conditions to avoid these attractions, we know that people routinely ignore these warnings. While most will be alright regardless, you also have the occasional individual with an undiagnosed and unknown ailment which could prove dangrerous (this has happened previously at WDW). Hence, it might be justified having an AED at each such "thrill ride" attraction, but not all attractions (you shouldn't need an AED for both Peter Pan and Small World in the MK).
Units should be readily available anywhere else, but of course it is unreasonable (and unecessary) to have a unit in every building or on every streetcorner in America. A heart attack can happen anywhere or anytime, and the AED's need to be convenient and quickly retrievable. That might mean, for instance, every store in the Marketplace wouldn't need one AED each, but you would proably want at least two such devices in each section of Downtown Disney - in an emergency, its a long run (too long) from Disneyquest to World of Disney to retrive an AED. In AK, I would indeed have expected a unit closer to EE than Discovery Island.
Yeah, this guy probably shouldn't have been riding this ride, but if you take that logic to the extreme, then why should the rides be subject to any safety standards? Just slap up a "ride at your own risk" sign. And why should Disney have procedures for responding to emergencies and getting the EMTs on the scene ASAP?
Disney should be expected to take reasonable measures to protect the safety of its guests. IEDs are not expensive, they are easy to use, fairly idiot-proof and are known to save lives. At some point it is reasonable, and a good business decision, for Disney to place IEDs at all of the "extreme" rides, which are the most likely to stress the heart.
Whoops!I hope you mean AED's. An IED on EE would certainly make that THE THRILL ride indeed. (I know what you meant, but couldn't resist...sorry)
I hope you mean AED's. An IED on EE would certainly make that THE THRILL ride indeed. (I know what you meant, but couldn't resist...sorry)
Here in RI we are now pushing for all schools to have AED's available and all sports venues should have them. In the city I teach in, all city properties now have them. This after a young man, 15 died at baseball practice from an unknown problem, and EMT's feel he may still be here IF there were a device available. As an ice hockey coach I often hear of young athletes dying from being hit at the right time in the right place and having their heart stop. As an Athletic Director, when I rent facilities, it is one of the first questions I ask. I am in the process of seeking pricing and availability along with training for my coaches. Should the need ever come, I feel it is far better to be safe. I agree with the logic that a company such as Disney could not only afford, but really shouldn't be without this piece of equipment. That is not to put the blame for any death by heart failure squarely on Disney's shoulders, but in the interest of saving a life or two. It's not the end all and be all for life, but it has been proven to help.
Every year, before I leave I have all my physicals, including a visit to my cardiologist, and my last question to him before I leave his office is, "is it ok to do the coaster rides at Disney"? I have no pre-existing conditions, that I know of, but I want that peace-of- mind to not be putting my family in the position of facing this situation. Not to say that something can't crop up, but again, I'd rather sound like a wimp and ask, than to get a nasty surprise.
VERY WELL SAID. Having been an EMS provider for over 18 years (AEMT) I agree with your analysis.
Scott