Dear Mater Christi families,

The safety of your children is our highest priority. We are pleased to announce that Mater Christi has collaborated with Parent Heart Watch organization to implement a plan for unforeseen cardiac emergencies. Parent Heart Watch is committed to eliminating preventable deaths by sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in youths. Sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death on school campuses and the number one cause of death among student athletes.

Although our school is located near a fire department and level one trauma center, EMS may not be able to reach our campus within three minutes. A carefully orchestrated response in the first few minutes of a cardiac emergency reduces death and disability in children and adults and helps ensure that chaos does not lead to an improper or inadequate response. Therefore, we have formed an emergency response team, adopted an American Heart Association Cardiac Emergency Response Plan, and increased the faculty and staff members trained in CPR/AED.

During American Heart Month in February, Parent Heart Watch generously donated a top model automated external defibrillator (AED). Our new AED is mounted outside of the Health Office for easy access to the gymnasium and athletic field. Although we pray we never have to put it to use, we are so pleased that an AED and Cardiac Emergency Response Plan are now part of Mater Christi’s safety efforts.

Healthy regards from the team,

Ellen Ammirato, RN

Hilary Bickford

Zac Farnham Haskell

Pronto Parenteau

Mark Pendergrass

Nicole Pinard