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With the help of the state legislature and the Norwich Township Fire Department, Hilliard City Schools soon will have new response tools to address medical emergencies that occur within district buildings.

Within days, the Hilliard City School District expects to begin outfitting each of its school buildings with automatic external defibrillators.

The devices, which help treat individuals who experience cardiac arrests, are being provided at no cost to the district through a recent grant program created by the Ohio General Assembly. The NTFD also has trained a number of the district's faculty and staff in how to use the devices, also at no cost.

"We're in the process of getting them for all the buildings," said Natalie Robison, a school nurse at Hilliard Darby High School. "They (the legislature) appropriated $2.5-million for school districts throughout the state to receive these."

By March 30, Robison said, some 80 to 100 faculty and staff members throughout the district will be trained to use the AEDs. Two training sessions conducted by the NTFD already have been held, and those trained will train other faculty and staff.

"We've provided the training that is required to go along with the use of the AEDs at no cost to the schools," said NTFD Chief Dave Long. "We've walked them through the process."

Although training sessions for using AEDs last three hours, Long said, the devices are relatively easy to use. However, in order to be qualified to operate an AED, one also must know CPR.

"When you turn it on, it prompts you on everything you need to do," he said. "But you need to train people so they are comfortable with the machines and what you have to do."

Robison said the NTFD also will direct the district as to where to place the AEDs within each school building. They will be available for use during school hours, and as various groups and individuals use the buildings during non-school hours.

"This is something that will be accessible to everyone who uses the building," she said.

According to Robison, two adults have gone into cardiac arrest within Hilliard school buildings over the past 10 years. She said the AEDs will be valuable because survival rates for those who experience cardiac arrest drop 7 percent to 10 percent for every minute that passes without defibrillator treatment.

Instances of brain damage can occur, she said, after four minutes of no treatment.

"If you don't have an AED and you're waiting for a squad to arrive with one, you're losing valuable minutes," she said. "We are really appreciative of the guys over at Norwich Township. They have been extremely helpful by totally volunteering their time."