Coaches at Massachusetts school undergo AED training before spring season

CONCORD, Mass. —

High school sports coaches in Massachusetts are required to have basic first aid training, but seeing an NFL player collapse on the field two months ago convinced the coaches at one school to up their game.

Coaches at Concord-Carlisle High School practiced chest compressions on Monday in a familiar exercise, but they also got to use an automated external defibrillator, a small portable device that can restore a heart's normal rhythm with an electric jolt.

"We hope that we never have to use it, but the reality is situations happen and we just want to be really prepared," Concord-Carlisle athletic director Aaron Joncas said. "We want everybody to feel comfortable."

After an Oxford High School football player, 16-year-old Michael Ellsessar, suffered a fatal cardiac arrest on the field in 2010, Massachusetts passed a law that required public schools to have defibrillators on site and make them easily accessible.

Nurses in the Emerson Hospital Emergency Department organized and led the AED training for the Concord-Carlisle coaches.

Casey DeWalt, a clinical nurse educator at Emerson, and said using a defibrillator on a real person — especially when it's the first time — can be intimidating.

"When you see someone in full arrest, it's a very shocking thing to see," DeWalt said. "We in emergency medicine see it often, so we know how to respond quickly."

The importance of a quick response became clear on Jan. 2, when Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest after making a tackle. His life was saved by emergency medical technicians who were using a defibrillator.

 "Because these things happen so fast, you have to be able to react and jump into action when it's needed, especially if it's a kid," Concord-Carlisle track and field coach Brian Publicover said.

Part of the challenge at Concord-Carlisle High School is that the athletic fields are very spread out and the school is unable to have a defibrillator for everyone. But the school does have a golf cart so that a defibrillator can be rushed to wherever it's needed on campus.