MOULTRIE — A co-worker suddenly falls to the floor clutching his chest — what do you do? According to Suzanne Sumner, director of school nurses for the Colquitt County School System, an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) is the only thing that can save an individual in sudden cardiac arrest.

“If you haven’t been helped in three minutes, then your chance of survival is greatly decreased,” she said.

She said that in Georgia schools alone, there have been at least 15 students and 12 adults who have died from sudden cardiac arrest in the past five years. According to statistics released as of Feb. 1, there have been 28 saves (with the AED) in Georgia in the past three years and 12 of them were students.

It was statistics like these which prompted Sumner and the school system to pursue Project S.A.V.E. (Sudden Cardiac Death: Awareness Vision for Prevention Education), an organization which promotes prevention of sudden cardiac death in school-age children and adolescents.

“That’s how we really got started with this program,” she said.

Through this organization’s encouragement and direction, the Colquitt County School System put at least one AED in every school in the county including two at Packer Park.

“We want the public to know that they’re in the concession stands at the baseball field and soccer field. And the high school has three,” she added.

She said the trainer for Colquitt County High School takes one with him to sporting events.

Sumner said that Colquitt County schools are now rated “Heart Safe” through Project S.A.V.E.

“That was our goal — to be 100 percent,” she said.

The AEDs can be found centrally located in each school, usually around the nurse’s office, mounted on a wall in a hallway — except in the case of C.A. Gray Junior High, where it is located in the gymnasium because a convenient inside hallway was not available. The high school also has one located in its gym, Sumner added. She said they have also placed stickers on the doors of the building in which the device was located.

She said she believes it’s important for people to know that they’re accessible, especially parents and visitors to the school because many activities take place outside of regular school hours.

“It’s just good to have them at all the schools and for people to know where they are,” she said.

She said she has held an orientation of the AED machine for the entire staff of each school to make them aware of signs that an individual is in heart distress. She said the entire staff knows what to do in an emergency.

However, there is a certain protocol in place in case of an emergency and each school has staff members trained in CPR and specifically how to use the AED.

“We call them our Emergency Response Team,” said Sumner.

She said if a person is found and is thought to be in heart distress, the first thing that happens is the school’s office is contacted and a “code blue” goes out. Then, the Emergency Response Team responds to the location and the AED is retrieved from its cabinet, which sets off an alarm to alert everyone that it has been removed. Sumner said once the individual is hooked-up to the device by a member of the team, the machine guides them completely through the steps needed to be taken.

“It reads the rhythm of the heart,” she said.

If the individual does not need to be shocked, the machine will not deliver a shock to them.

“Very user-friendly,” she said.

She said the staff members trained to use the device are trained through the American Heart Association and the certification is good through two years. She said every February she reminds all of the schools to take out the machine and brush-up on how to use it and what to do in case of an emergency.

Sumner said that the school system was able to purchase four of the devices through the DeLoache Trust, managed by Southwest Georgia Bank, and others were purchased through local donors. She said the last three were purchased through a matching grant.

Many places, including businesses and churches, have AEDs, she said. Anyone interested in learning more about them or how to purchase one can either look online or contact a healthcare provider, she said.