LCHS student's condition leads to new emergency medical training

Local EMTs, nurses and firefighters, along with Lynchburg-Clay school district employees, have joined forces to educate themselves on a rare heart condition to better understand how to treat a local student who suffers from the disease.

AirEvac Lifeteam, East Ambulance, Lynchburg Fire and Paint Creek Joint EMS/Fire District personnel met at the Lynchburg Fire Department Thursday, Feb. 20 for a special training seminar prompted by a Lynchburg-Clay student who has Long QT syndrome.

(At the family’s request, the student is not being identified for this story.)

According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, Long QT syndrome (LQTS) is “a disorder of the heart’s electrical activity … [which] can cause sudden, uncontrollable, dangerous arrhythmias.” The disorder is so named because a “long QT” is a term for “an abnormal pattern seen on an EKG (electrocardiogram).”

While patients with LQTS can lead a normal life, precautions must be taken to protect the patient from cardiac episodes. Among the triggers discussed were sports or other physical activity and stress, but according to the NHLBI, “people who have LQTS also can have arrhythmias from no known reason.”

At the Lynchburg Fire Department program, AirEvac Flight registered nurses Danielle Richards and Bethany Smart gave a PowerPoint presentation of information on LQTS, its symptoms and various triggers and its treatment. Emergency personnel participated in quizzes and hands-on training and initiated discussions and question and answer sessions on the safest treatment options.

First responders also participated in a one-hour training session on landing zone safety.

The student’s parents also attended the event to participate in the training themselves and to answer emergency professionals’ questions on their child’s medications, medical history, diagnosis and other information.

According to Pamela Newkirk, EAST Ambulance Clinical Liaison, the student’s mother approached EAST to share information on her daughter’s condition and to “pre-register” her with the ambulance service in case their transport service is needed, and the idea for the training evolved from there.

“I suggested to [the student’s mother] that it would be a good idea to contact a helicopter-based company also because in an emergent situation, that is the way the cardiologist involved preferred [the student] would be transported to Children’s Cincinnati,” Newkirk said.

After the family registered with AirEvac, their employees in turn suggested a training program for the community. Newkirk said that the student’s mother worked with EAST and AirEvac to set up the seminar.

“The end results were great,” Newkirk said. “AirEvac had a great presentation, and [the student’s parents] were able to share a lot of extra information. We all learned a great deal.”

Lynchburg Fire Chief David Manning said that he assisted Newkirk in “the logistics of the training facility” and invited all of the fire departments in the county to attend the training.

“We did not receive any special certifications, but we did receive the training to prepare us should an incident occur with someone with Long QT Syndrome,” Manning said.

“We also received continuing education that will be applied to the required hours needed to re-certify our EMS certifications with the State of Ohio and National Registry.”

Manning said he felt the training program was important for local emergency professionals, as it enables them to be “better prepared.”

“As we all know, there are a multitude of different medical issues out there,” Manning said.

“The more we learn about them, and especially when there is knowledge of someone that has a particular medical issue that we may have to respond to, the better prepared we are to properly handle their emergency or medical issue.”

Manning said that he appreciated the efforts of both EAST Ambulance and AirEvac in arranging the program and complimented the student’s parents for their preparedness in ensuring that their child will have the best possible treatment.

“Working with the staff from EAST Ambulance and the staff from the Air Evac Lifeteam was an excellent experience and one which I hope that we continue to improve upon in the future,” Manning said. “I would like to express my thanks and admiration to the parents for reaching out to make sure that that we know about Long QT Syndrome, and more importantly, working on improving our awareness and education about it.”

The student’s parents have also worked to protect their child by helping to educate the Lynchburg-Clay school district, thanks to Lynchburg-Clay school nurse Rachel Wallace.

Wallace is a former cardiac nurse who said she is familiar with the student’s condition from her previous work, and she said there are several plans in place to help the student in case of an emergency.

Wallace said that she has worked with Lynchburg-Clay Local School District superintendent Shane Shope and principals Linda Hatten, Casey Smith and Joni Minton to establish “First Aid Teams” in each school building.

“Each team member is trained annually and certified annually in CPR, first aid, use of the AEDs [automated external defibrillators] and on how to remain calm and act efficiently during a medical crisis involving a student or staff member,” Wallace said.

“These teams include two members assigned to perform first aid, a member to notify EMS and next of kin, members to be ‘gophers,’ a member to document all events, etc.”

While Wallace said that this plan was not designed with the student with LQTS in mind, it has been set up to care for any of the “numerous students with life-threatening chronic illnesses” in the school district, along with “serious injuries, allergic reactions, seizures and many other issues.”

Each student in the Lynchburg school district with a life-threatening medical condition also has both an individualized health plan (IHP) and an emergency action plan (EAP), according to Wallace. The student with LQTS has specific needs detailed in the IHP, such as “the need to have immediate access to an AED and self-limit physical activity,” Wallace said.

Wallace said that an AED is available in each building as well as the athletic center, and that the student also has a personal AED in case “immediate access” is needed.

The EAP provides the first aid team with training in case of an emergency, much like the program for first responders.

“The EAP instructs the first aid team on step-by-step emergency care until EMS arrives,” Wallace said.

“These plans are formed with the input of the parents, teachers and (if age appropriate) the student and are revised with any changes in medical status.”

Wallace said that she has met with the student’s parents to develop the IHP and EAP and to update the EAP as changes arise.

“This student is lucky to have proactive parents and the best cardiac doctors in our area,” Wallace said. “As a nurse working in a school, I would like parents to know how important it is to communicate with your school nurse any serious medical issue your child may have.

“Communication enables school staff to be prepared for the worst. Schools have limited resources when it comes to caring for chronic medical issues.

“Keeping our kids safe is a number-one priority of myself and my coworkers. It is a community effort, and it is good to know that we have such a caring community.”