May 24, 2007

BMR School District Improves Student Safety
AED Devices Placed in District Schools, Teams Trained, Local Fire Depts. Lauded

BLACKSTONE…  “You never know when someone will need this type of medical help.   Without it, tragedy can become reality.   We read about it everyday” said Elizabeth Gadoury, RN, school nurse at Frederick W. Hartnett Middle School in Blackstone.  That sums up the impetus that took two years and $16,000 raised in donations to insure that all five schools in the Blackstone-Millville Regional School District have Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) placed in each school building and response teams trained and prepared.   Now that several months have passed and the prospect of summer vacation looms happily on the horizon, the need for improved medical response has been underscored with a recent tragedy in a nearby school district.

“We have 11 AED units throughout the district, and with the help of the Blackstone and Millville Fire Departments, we have trained response teams in each school.   Local support has been overwhelming in many ways” said Everett B. Campbell, Superintendent of BMR School District.  Besides 9 stationery units, there are 2 portable units to be used on the athletic fields that are located on the Blackstone-Millville Regional High School campus on Lincoln Street in Blackstone.

Today’s results did not occur overnight.   The beginning can be traced to a committee formed in 2004 that was chaired by former A.F. Maloney Elementary School principal John Pilibosian and the then district school nurses Ann Borges, RN; Gloria Hreczuck; Elizabeth Gadoury, RN; and Dorothy Santoro, RN.   Campbell, BMR School Committee vice chair Ann Lesperance, parent representative Judy Eisner and Blackstone fire fighter Mark Poirier rounded out the panel.   Their findings were forwarded and approved by the school committee and fundraising for the project began in earnest.

The two communities served by the regional school district responded and led by  Lesperance and Eisner, fundraising efforts covered all expenses to purchase the units and the associated training.   Gadoury was named district AED coordinator and working with Blackstone Fire Chief Michael J. Sweeney and Millville Fire Chief John Mullaly, training was coordinated and physical location of the units agreed upon.   “I am happy to be a part of the program” said Gadoury.  “This is a benefit to not only the students but also the communities we serve” Gadoury said.  She added “I can’t say enough about the Blackstone and Millville Fire Departments.  They went over above and beyond my expectations of cooperation.   Their focus was on the students. Period.”

“This program is very positive and so has been the experience for our department” said Blackstone Fire Chief Michael J. Sweeney “this is another aspect of how we try to interact with our school system – fire safety and fire prevention are another two programs.”   “BMR is lucky to have someone like Mrs. Gadoury, she has been the force behind this program” Sweeney added.

During the 2005-2006 school year, Hartnett Middle School was selected as the district’s pilot school for the AED program and three units were installed in the Federal Street building.  Each district school has a response team that consists of that school’s nurse and faculty and staff members.   In January 2007, team members underwent training and practice drills on responding to medical emergencies requiring use of the AEDs.

Blackstone-Millville Regional School District consists of the towns of Blackstone and Millville in Worcester County , Massachusetts .    Physically located in the Blackstone River Valley , home of America ’s Industrial Revolution, the District serves the educational needs of students K-12 with resources in three elementary schools, a middle school and a high school.  For more information about us and links to both communities visit www.bmrsd.net.

“Safety First.”   (From l to r) Blackstone fire fighter Kenny Cotnoir; BMR School District AED Coordinator Elizabeth Gadoury, R.N.; Blackstone Fire Chief Michael J. Sweeney; and fire fighter Denis Cotnoir review an AED unit located in the lobby of the Frederick W. Hartnett Middle School in Blackstone, one of 11 AED units located in schools throughout the district. (BMRSD photograph/R.M.Lafayette)