We have a second home where we plan to live when I retire which is kind of in the sticks. EMT response time would be around 30 minutes on a good day. So we want to buy a defibrillator to keep in the house, along with taking first aid training courses. I know we have a bunch of medical type folk here from MD's to nurses to first responders, and probably others who already own these things for their own homes. I would appreciate any advice or suggestions as to make and model, features and whatever else you might think I should know. Thanks in advance.

Check online for AHA CPR courses in your area.

The Defib of choice in a lot of places for public use is the Philips Heartstart. When I taught CPR, it was the easiest to train on because, so long as you can hear, it will tell you exactly what to do. It also has a guide in visual form inside the lid.

The only downside to a home defib is keeping the pads current. They have a two year shelf life and then the adhesive starts to dry out. They used to be about 50-60$ a pair.

A member here just posted about purchasing one.

We keep the Zoll AED Plus in our cars, because that’s what the local fire-rescue district recommends. They train us yearly and service them yearly... free of charge.

Check your local fire/EMS service and see what they recommend and find out if they have similar service plan.

Having AEDs in private residences isn’t that unusual anymore, and there are several relatively inexpensive options.

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That is a nice arrangement. Is it a volunteer fire department?

quote:

Originally posted by tanksoldier:
We keep the Zoll AED Plus in our cars, because that’s what the local fire-rescue district recommends. They train us yearly and service them yearly... free of charge.

Check your local fire/EMS service and see what they recommend and find out if they have similar service plan.

Having AEDs in private residences isn’t that unusual anymore, and there are several relatively inexpensive options.

This. Also should the need arise, it makes the switch to EMS easier. Just disconnect the AED & connect to the EMS defibrillator.

Great idea as here in rural america it's sometimes closer for me to go directly to the scene and have to wait until someone brings the Rescue which has our department AED on it.

The one thing I wold add is if you can find out what your local ALS ambulance uses for their monitor, I would get a model that uses compatible pads. That way all they have to do is plug your pads in. If not, they are going to swap them out so they can have the record of the code in their device to load into the report.

I'd add that Stop the Bleed training and TQ's are as important or possibly more so.

I just purchased 4, one FAA approved for the jet, and 3 for the bosses lodge out in Wisconsin. I got all Zoll units. I'm slowly getting all the family members briefed on their use. $1200-$1800 each.

I was happy when many of them thanked me for making this happen. The nearest fire/rescue folks are easily 25 minutes away.

I purchased them thru this distributor.

http://www.mmemed.com/

I took Brads advise ^^^ and contacted the local EMS units about pads. He said forget it. All the responders would likely remove what we had applied and install their own fresh set. But it doesn't hurt to ask.

When I was shopping Phillips brand were not obtainable. They were having major issues with batteries.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: coloradohunter44,

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
That is a nice arrangement. Is it a volunteer fire department?

Oh, no... it’s an incredibly well funded multi-municipality department. They have volunteers, too... but they have 3 fully staffed stations with a fourth coming this year.

I don’t know what they do, if anything, for businesses and private individuals but for us they sell them to the department at cost, replace used supplies for free and service and train annually for free.

quote:

Originally posted by coloradohunter44:
I took Brads advise ^^^ and contacted the local EMS units about pads. He said forget it. All the responders would likely remove what we had applied and install their own fresh set. But it doesn't hurt to ask.

I wonder if there's a best practices or something that suggests that. We (LE) use a model with compatible pads with our ambulance service. They just go with the disconnect/reconnect on ours (and generally give us a new set of pads at the conclusion of the call), but I could see why with a private device and pads of relatively unknown provenance, set up by somebody with unknown training and skills, that the 10 seconds it takes to put new pads on might just be worth it.

I can’t add much to what’s above, except to check the battery at least monthly. They are quite expensive to replace when they do die.

You can do the American Heart Association class online, then find an instructor to do the hands on part through their website or a local community college usually. But right now it may be pretty hard to find an in-person class. With that kind of delay for EMS, you probably want a class that covers giving breaths. I would recommend their Heartsaver CPR/AED class.

They also have a first aid class. I’ve taught hundreds of CPR classes, but have never done their first aid class, so I can’t comment on how it compares to others.

A Stop the Bleed class would be good, or any of the more in depth classes, such as a wildernesses first aid class. Stop the bleed is very focused, you might benefit more from something a bit more comprehensive for the scenario you describe. Dark Angel also does classes I’ve heard good things about.

I wouldn’t pay extra for pediatric function or pads. You can use adult pads on a kid if you have to. Most public places just have adult setups. Really any brand will be fine, they are all very simple.

I keep a Phillips Heart Start in my truck. I put it in a Pelican case. I am not a medical type but I can't imagine it being any simpler to operate than this

I set my last company up with the Phillips model.

We asked the local FD about pass compatibility, they said that they'd just swap pads as they can't be sure of age, proper placement, or size.
Easier to swap than to verify, according to them.

Thanks very much for al these responses. Lots of good information to get me going on this. One of my neighbors who I have become friendly with is a retired fire chief from somewhere in Virginia and is a member of the local volunteer fire department (house is in western North Carolina) so I have put this question to him as well. I will ask about compatibility with what they use. And for the suggestions about additional training. My wife and I are both pretty serious about being prepared in the event of an emergency and definitely want in person instruction, not just to buy the AED unit.

quote:

Oh, no... it’s an incredibly well funded multi-municipality department. They have volunteers, too... but they have 3 fully staffed stations with a fourth coming this year.

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Yeah. Incredibly well funded. My brother works for a similar department. None of the departments locally are well funded. We even have a donated fire truck from another department.

Thanks for responding.