Paseo Hills PTSA Goals & Programs

Health, Safety and Welfare

Safety Awareness Program

PTSA is committed to the health, safety and welfare of all children.  We are constantly and consistently looking for ways to improve and enhance programs and procedures that affect the welfare of your children from parking lot and traffic safety, bicycle safety, nutrition and exercise, to character and self esteem issues.

Nurse’s Office

PTSA is continually providing support for the Nurse’s Office.  Whether it be assisting in finding volunteers to help in the office or finding volunteers to help during the annual vision and hearing screening.  The most recent aid came last year when an orthoscope was provided by PTSA upon request from the nurse.  An orthoscope is an instrument used to examine the eye that eliminates corneal refraction by means of a layer of water.

Defibrillator

This very important piece of medical equipment will be brand new to the Paseo Hills campus this year.  An AED or Automatic External Defibrillator is a device used in the treatment of life-threatening disturbances of the rhythm of the heart beat which may occur as the result of a heart attack or a variety of serious injuries or illnesses.  Its effect is to 'reset' the electrical activity of the heart in the hope that the natural pacemaker cells can then regain control of the rhythm.  This particular AED is full-rescue which means it offers both defibrillation and CPR, a tool that is able to actually see what you are doing and provide feedback to help you do it well.  Audio and visual prompts help you rescue with confidence and clarity.  This AED will be installed in the Multi-Purpose Room and training will be provided for all Paseo Hills staff.

What the American Heart Association says...

Ventricular fibrillation is an extremely fast and chaotic heart rhythm during which the heart's lower chambers (ventricles) quiver and don't pump any blood.  AEDs diagnose heart rhythms, differentiating those that need a defibrillating shock from those that don't.  The devices can be operated by bystanders or emergency responders such as paramedics or police officers.  AEDs were originally designed for adults, but they now have been shown to also accurately diagnose a child's heart rhythm.  Some AED manufacturers now offer pediatric-sized electrode pads with cables that reduce the adult-size shock to a level more suitable to children 1 to 8.  "With that information, we are issuing the statement that AEDs can now be used on children with no signs of circulation as young as 1 year of age."  Samson says.  However, even an AED without pediatric electrode pads can be used on children 1 and older.  Source: American Heart Association scientific statement published July 1, 2003 in Circulations: Journal of the American Heart Association.  Ricardo Samson, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics, University of Arizona, Tucson, and lead author of the statement.