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Northland College teams up with AFD to enhance safety on campus

March 26, 2012

Northland College and the Ashland Fire Department joined together to bring life-saving equipment to campus. Northland secured six automated external defibrillators (AEDs) with the assistance of the Ashland Fire Department to install in locations across campus this month. AEDs are portable electronic devices that help diagnose and treat abnormal heart rhythms.

"We will be doing some training when the AEDs are installed so that people are aware of how the machines work and where they are located," says Autumn Kelley, Campus Nurse at Northland. "We recently offered CPR and AED certification to Northland employees and may offer another course once people hear about the AEDs."

Lieutenant Tom Walters with the Ashland Fire Department says the partnership enables them to provide the best service to the campus community during what may be a potentially life-threatening situation.

"It's important to work together to be compatible with everything we have so we can have a smooth transition" in the event someone requires medical assistance, Walters says.

Northland College only had two AEDs on campus prior to partnering with the Ashland Fire Department, according to Northland College Vice President of Finance and Administration Robert Jackson.

"The safety of Northland's faculty, staff and students - as well as those visiting campus - remains the College's top priority," says Jackson. "The Ashland Fire Department assisted Northland College in securing the devices at a cost savings while ensuring that our devices were compatible with those of the department and the hospital."

The addition of equipment to serve the medical needs of campus-goers is part of the College's risk and crisis management planning. Through the planning process, Northland determined that additional defibrillator devices would improve medical assistance and response across the entire college campus. Northland's Risk and Crisis Management Workgroup, as well as the Northland College Health Services Office, coordinated with external agencies on how best to ensure enhanced medical response on campus. Northland will continue to partner with local and regional emergency management services partners to improve response and access to equipment as it assesses and enhances risk and crisis management procedures.