The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has urged employers to consider making automated external defibrillators (AEDs) available in their workplaces for workers who experience cardiac arrests while on the job. OSHA has issued a fact card and a technical information bulletin on the use of AEDs.
AEDs are designed to analyze the heart rhythm and automatically indicate when to administer the electric shock (defibrillation) that restores the normal rhythm to the victim’s heart. The units run on rechargeable batteries and cost between $3,000 and $4,500.
“AEDs are easy to use and can make a critical difference in reviving individuals who suffer a cardiac crisis,” said OSHA Administrator John Henshaw in a press release. According to OSHA, placing AEDs in workplaces could significantly increase survival rates. In 1999 and 2000, 815 of 6,339 workplace fatalities reported to OSHA resulted from cardiac arrest. The Agency estimates the workplace defibrillators could have saved as many as 140 of these lives.
The OSHA fact card and technical information bulletin are available on OSHA’s website at www.osha-slc.gov/OshDoc/Additional.html#AED and www.osha-slc.gov/dts/tib/tib_data/tib20011217.pdf. OSHA’s materials on AEDs do not impose any new obligations on employers.
