Philips Celebrates Half Millionth AED with Milwaukee Public Schools

Chuck Little, GM of Philips' AED business (right), congratulates MPS Superintendent William G. Andrekopoulos (left) as he accepts the 500,000th HeartStart AED.

Photo credit: Steve Ewing, Steve Ewing and Co.

Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) will add more AEDs to its HeartSafe Schools program in celebration of the first National CPR/AED Awareness Week. This results in more than 200 AEDs for MPS, and the 500,000th HeartStart defibrillator shipped by Philips Healthcare. The MPS HeartSafe Program has equipped 148 sites with AEDs, trained approximately 1,800 MPS general staff as first responders, and trained many students as part of their school curriculum. As a result, three lives have been saved from sudden cardiac arrest, including Mathew, an 8th grader from the Milwaukee Sign Language School, where a press event was held on June 2 to mark this milestone. Chuck Little, general manager of the AED business, spoke along with Mathew, the superintendent of schools and Rebecca Neumann-Schwabe, RN, BSN, MPS, who manages the successful program.