BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Carroll hopes to be among the first counties in the state with devices in every school that can jump-start students’ and teachers’ stopped hearts.

Steven Krouse, a physical education teacher at Cranberry Station Elementary School in Westminster, has partnered with a private, nonprofit organization, the Carroll County Public Schools Education Foundation, to try to raise $64,000 to buy defibrillators for the county’s 31 elementary and middle schools.

“I’ve had students who’ve had serious heart conditions in my school and it was always a worry to me,” Krouse said. “If something happened, would we be able to take care of it?”

High schools in Maryland are required to have defibrillators under a state law passed in 2006 to make sports safer. But the school systems in Carroll and most other counties at the time decided against buying the machines for every school, said Steve Guthrie, the county’s assistant superintendent.

“You’re finding them show up in malls, they’re in health clubs, they’re in airports. They’re trying to get them everywhere because they’re so easy to use,” Krouse said. “So why not put them in schools?”

The devices detect victims’ heart rhythms, then talk to users to tell them where to put the color-coded pads and when to press the button to jolt the victim’s heart into the correct beat.

More than 300 students and staff with heart conditions are registered with the county schools system, Krouse said. According to the American Heart Association, most recent statistics show that in 2004 about 310,000 Americans died from out-of-hospital cardiac arrests.

But victims’ chances of surviving improve about 70 percent when a defibrillator is used instead of CPR, Krouse said.

Baltimore is the only metropolitan county with defibrillators in all schools, Krouse said. Anne Arundel has them in all middle and high schools, a spokesman said.

Nancy McCormick, who serves on the Education Foundation’s board, said the group is reviewing its finances to determine if it has enough money to pay for all the defibrillators.

msilvestri@baltimoreexaminer.com

Comments from Examiner Readers

7:44 PM MST on Sat., May. 10, 2008 re: "County teachers �upset� by raise; increase lowest in more than decade"

Examiner Reader said:
I want to ask a question about the attitude of 'teachers want to earn money from students" and "students dislike of teachers".

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7:54 AM MST on Fri., May. 9, 2008 re: "County teachers �upset� by raise; increase lowest in more than decade"

Examiner Reader said:
We're sick of ignorant people such as yourself who have no idea what "teaching" actually entails. Most people are paid for their extra hours. Most people aren't cussed out by kids all day. Most people know that resorting to name calling is a sign of stupidity. Grow up.

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6:22 AM MST on Fri., May. 9, 2008 re: "County teachers �upset� by raise; increase lowest in more than decade"

Examiner Reader said:
Cry Baby teachers. Every body works hard these days. Most people put in extra hours. Many people work alot harder than teachers. I'm sick of their whining.

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7:52 AM MST on Thu., May. 8, 2008 re: "County teachers �upset� by raise; increase lowest in more than decade"

Examiner Reader said:
Go complain to the NEA. The taxpayers are more than a little incensed at their sky rocketing state, local, and property taxes.

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9:09 PM MST on Fri., May. 2, 2008 re: "NAACP member appointed to the Carroll school board"

Examiner Reader said:
(To the reader who posted below) I don't think that line you quoted states what you said it does. Reading further, the writer was disagreeing a previous statement that suggested teachers don't work very much. I appreciate the efforts of those who teach my child. I notice their hard work.

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3:39 PM MST on Thu., Apr. 17, 2008 re: "NAACP member appointed to the Carroll school board"

Examiner Reader said:
"...[T]here is nothing mentioned about the extra time put into the [teaching]job outside the contracted hours. It is not a job that ends when the school day is over." The problem with that worn argument is that it implies the rest of us--outside of the teaching arena--do not similarly put in more hours than are officially recorded. Quit whining. Don't like teaching? Try a job where your success or failure dictates whether you remain employed!

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6:06 PM MST on Wed., Apr. 16, 2008 re: "Teacher salaries, reducing class sizes school renovations dominate debate"

Examiner Reader said:
you rule

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1:35 PM MST on Tue., Apr. 15, 2008 re: "Parents: Drug, alcohol policy targets athletes"

Examiner Reader said:
This policy does not seem practical especially because only there is only one Baltimore County that enforces this policy. Rather, other counties in Baltimore have policies saying that they will force students out of sports teams and other extracurricular activities if the students themselves possess it or consume it. I agree with Alexander regarding Carroll�s policy which has more of an incentive for students drinking at parties because they the students feel that regardless if they are �caught� and are not drinking them still get into trouble. Yes, this policy does impose more responsibilities on parents so they can be more on a look out for their children. Nonetheless, even if this policy were not to exist, parents should still always check what their children are up to regardless of busy lifestyles. If parents keep an eye on their children, it can keep them out of trouble. This policy is a little unfair as well because it forces students out of teams even if the student did

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8:42 AM MST on Sat., Apr. 12, 2008 re: "NAACP member appointed to the Carroll school board"

Examiner Reader said:
So was this person the best choice for this job or was she put here becuse of the race game?

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6:53 AM MST on Wed., Mar. 19, 2008 re: "Parents: Drug, alcohol policy targets athletes"

Examiner Reader said:
Previous poster is right, very right. There are only so many good teachers out there. We have 2.8 million k-12 teachers in the country. Baltimore County has a mixture of good and not so good. Teachers convince your unions to not allow the weak teachers to be carried by the good ones. They are the ones limiting the salaries of good teachers not the county executive. I suspect he would be in favor of differentiated pay based on performance.

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6:53 AM MST on Wed., Mar. 5, 2008 re: "Carroll condom class nixed"

Examiner Reader said:
The power of the church.

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9:11 PM MST on Wed., Feb. 27, 2008 re: "Teacher salaries, reducing class sizes school renovations dominate debate"

Examiner Reader said:
A previous comment demonstrates the misunderstanding much of the public has about the work a teacher does. There is more to it than meets the eye. Though the typical contract requires teachers to work 10 months a year and 7.5 hours a day, there is nothing mentioned about the extra time put into the job outside the contracted hours. It is not a job that ends when the school day is over. Check out an elementary school parking lot an hour after the students leave. Half of the staff is still there. The other half took work home. Just like police, public works, and others paid with tax money, the salaries of teachers will always be controversial. As a teacher with a Master's Degree, it is disheartening to see friends and family with much less education in less essential jobs, making more money. If more teachers took the advice of the commenter below and went to other jobs for more money, our nation's kids would pay in the end. There are only so many good teachers out there.

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6:09 AM MST on Sat., Feb. 23, 2008 re: "New slots for teachers OK�d to limit class sizes"

voter said:
Would love to see an article with the percentage of money spent within the budget on different areas. Teacher salaries are only one area of the budget. Raise teacher salaries or hire more and something else must be cut. Sorry but that is life. What should be cut? Maintenance of building? Textbooks? Libraries? Sports? Band? Janitorial service? Lawn maintenance? Busing? Lesson materials? Computers? Counselors? Face it, education is expensive. But cc board of commissioners must cut 8 million.

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10:32 AM MST on Tue., Jan. 15, 2008 re: "Teacher salaries, reducing class sizes school renovations dominate debate"

Examiner Reader said:
I agree with this comment and I think people do appreciate the fact that a public school teaching career is not path to riches. The facts are clear that a perceived low salary is not the top reason teachers leave. Many become teachers without a real appreciation for what is involved in the job. In the first few years you like it or not. If we hire smarter, we might retain longer but when you lose 200+ teachers in one year you have to hire who shows up. Working conditions and in-school training that addresses current teacher professional development needs are the bigger hot buttons for teachers frustrated by the move to teach-to-the-test rather than proficiency in a subject. Salaries is what we hear about because teacher's union officials keep harping on it - he who has the gold makes the rules. Ask a real teacher why they stay or leave and get some real feedback.

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7:22 AM MST on Wed., Jan. 9, 2008 re: "Teacher salaries, reducing class sizes school renovations dominate debate"

Examiner Reader said:
I'm always surprised at people constantly complaining about teacher salaries. They work fewer hours per day than a lot of people and fewer days out of the year than probably everyone else with a full time job, probably at a maximum of 75% of what many people do. Think $37,000 is low? Bump it up by 25% to in excess of $46,000 and it doesn't seem so bad does it? Everyone knows what teacher salaries are and many people who go into the profession balance that with the huge amount of time off, vacations, benefits, etc. If you want to earn more, choose a different profession and work 50-52 weeks out of the year, 8+ hours per day.

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5:31 AM MST on Fri., Dec. 7, 2007 re: "Carroll could lose at least $8.5 million from state"

Examiner Reader said:
The real reason for this is carroll votes republican. The Dem's do not care about the children, they only care about power and retribution.

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3:55 AM MST on Fri., Dec. 7, 2007 re: "Carroll could lose at least $8.5 million from state"

Sven said:
The solution is ALWAYS the same. Raise taxes.

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