Officials are working to ready Penn's campus for potential medical emergencies.
The HeartSafe program, recently launched by the Division of Public Safety, is encouraging all of the University's 12 schools to install equipment that could save lives in the event of a heart attack.
The initiative comes approximately one year after a 28-year-old male unaffiliated with the University died of cardiac arrest while dancing at the ARCH building at 36th Street and Locust Walk. At the time, there was no defibrillator in the building to resuscitate him.
An automated external defibrillators, or AED, is used to restore normal heart rhythm during a heart attack. Using an AED on a victim within the first five minutes of cardiac arrest increases a person's chance of survival by 50 percent, but without the machine, the odds of living fall 7 to 10 percent per minute, according to the American Heart Association.
To acquire an AED under the HeartSafe program, a school or building must designate a site coordinator to work with safety officials and recruit a volunteer training force of at least five members.
The schools must also purchase the machine and training for up to 10 staff members, at a total cost of $2,990.
Information sessions for schools interested in acquiring automated external defibrillators will take place next week.
So far, the Annenberg School for Communication, the School of Veterinary Medicine, the School of Design and the Graduate School of Education have all expressed interest in the project.
Jerel Wohl, director of fiscal operations for the Graduate School of Education, said that he first brought up the issue a year ago after noticing how common the devices were in other public places.
Wohl said he hasn't yet recruited all of his volunteers but added that he doesn't expect this to be a problem.
PennDesign Dean Patricia Woldar said her school currently has a site coordinator for the project, but is still looking for staff members to participate.
Woldar said PennDesign plans to purchase and install one of the devices in the lower-level classrooms of Meyerson Hall, which can seat as many as 400 students.
But though the main push to increase the presence of AED machines on campus will begin in the near future, according to safety officials, some progress is already under way.
Currently, Penn Police officers are certified to the use the machines,which are located in all police cars. Michael Fink, Penn's deputy chief of tactical and emergency readiness, said that security guards and Fire and Emergency Services personnel are undergoing training in its use as well.
Penn currently has 25 AEDs distributed throughout the Athletics Department, the Dental School, the Facilities and Real Estate Service buildings and the University's Human Resources Department.
Penn purchased its first two AEDs in 1999.
Some students said that even if the device isn't used frequently, the investment is still worthwhile.
"If it saves one life, it's worth it," College freshman Andrew Coren said.
The University is purchasing the devices from Cardiac Science Inc., a global company that specializes in manufacturing cardiology equipment.
