My son mentioned tonight that all RAs in his dorm have been instructed to not perform CPR on anyone, and may be fired if (and lose their scholarship) if they do. Additionally, it appears that no AED (defibrillator) is available anywhere in his dorm complex. And finally, all 911 calls are directed to campus police rather than the paramedics.
Is it just me, or does this sound crazy? Even young people can have cardiac issues, or overdose.
Does your child’s dorm have this no-CPR policy?
Good question! I don’t know the policy at my son’s school but I agree with you. This sounds like a crazy rule. I don’t understand as rescuers - at least where we live- are legally protected. Routing 911 calls through campus police sounds like it might delay time-sensitive responses. I’d be interested in hearing the school’s justification.
Shouldn’t 911 calls be taken by dispatchers who will send the appropriate police, fire, and/or ambulance based on the situation?
I’m willing to bet that if an RA performed CPR on someone and was fired the school would back down due to public opinion. There would be terrible publicity.
What would a lawyer say?
Why are students instructed not to perform CPR? Did they discover thatCPR in dorm situations never helps and sometimes injures when performed by RAs?
911 calls are normally not routed to paramedics anywhere. They are routed to trained dispatchers. If someone calls 911 they might need police, or paramedics, or firefighters, or something else. The dispatcher is supposed to evaluate the situation and do the right thing.
Statistics show that CPR isn’t very useful and may be altering policies, it seems.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/10/health/cpr-lifesaving-stats/
A poll of physicians asked them a list of procedures they would NOT want performed on them, ever. CPR was front and center.
I’m going to call his dorm next week to check things out… will report back when I know more.
You neglected to note the premise was that the physicians had “irreversible brain injury”. The answer to that question had to do with essentially end-of-life medical treatments and nothing to do with the effectiveness of CPR.
CPR remains a useful life saving tool, particularly in a situation in which the patient is likely to be young and free of underlying cardiac disease.
If a student calls 911 from their cell phone, how can it be routed to campus security?
I’m under the impression that the AEDs NEED to be administered by trained personnel-- having someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing could do more harm than good. It’s entirely possible that there are some at the health care center. That’s something you may want to check into.
Also, I wonder where your son got his information?
Just saying: cell phones don’t have the full 911 capacity that land line service does. You need to know to state the emergency location and your call back right away.
BTW, not all dispatchers are located in the same community or even area.
There’s a lot about the risks/realities online, incl talk about how our “rosy views” of CPR come from TV. You’re supposed to know when it is the right step.
Let us know, OP. My kids were certified, as lifeguards. I’m going to ask them how they would have reacted in a campus situation.
My son is an RA. He is required to have a landline in addition to his cell - perhaps it’s for calling 911.
He was a camp counselor and certified in CPR - I’ll ask what the college’s policy is on this.
I can see why easy access to AEDs could be a problem in a dorm full of intoxicated freshman. The likelihood of needing it for a 18-20 year old is way out weighted by the chance Billy thinks it’s cool to wake up Jimbo with the AED…or maybe I’m just projecting what I could have done as a Freshman and kids are way more responsible now. 
@ucbalumnus I always wondered what that WWJD abbreviation stood for…and now I know.
I hope you meant the patients and not the physicians.
No, the premise of the question was that YOU (the physicians being polled) have “irreversible brain injury”. Would YOU want the following medical procedures to be done to treat YOU? Choosing ‘NO’ for CPR was essentially the “no-code” or “no heroic measures” choice.
It has nothing to do with the value of CPR as a medical treatment.
So the physicians were the patients here. I didn’t get see that.
I don’t know what the policy at my school is about CPR but I do believe that IF an RA were to perform CPR they could not legally be fired because of the good Samaritan law.
On my campus however, unless a student calls 911 the issue is directed to the right office and security (ex. nurse, counselor, psychiatrist AND security) and THEN security calls 911 if necessary.
As far as I know there are No AED machines in the residence halls.
And to answer a post higher up- you do not need to be a professional to use an AED, in many places when you get CPR certified you are also certified in using an AED- and most modern AED’s give verbal, step by step instruction
Our DS’s campus has EMC trained students. The RA’s are taught to defer to them.