Pea Ridge Schools holds AED safety drills, earns Heart Safe School designation

PEA RIDGE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Three campuses in the Pea Ridge School District successfully completed the Heart Safety Designation drill, partnering with local EMS and Arkansas Children's Hospital to simulate a realistic scenario.

Pea Ridge's junior high, intermediate and primary schools were all put through the exercise.

For the scenario, a CPR mannequin was placed in a random spot in each school, and the closest staff member was asked to respond to a "medical emergency."

The staff member would then perform CPR on the dummy and use a nearby Automated External Defibrillator (AED), while calling the front office, who would then send the school's safety team to the staff member's location.

Someone from the safety team would then call a nonemergency line, with EMTs from Pea Ridge's Fire De