A Waiakea High School senior collapsed during a basketball practice session at Wainaku Gym last Wednesday, and two classmates performed CPR on him as they waited for emergency medical technicians to arrive.
The student’s condition was not available as of press time Wednesday, but the Department of Education confirmed the young man was transported to Kapiolani Medical Center on Oahu for treatment after his heart stopped.
Waiakea Principal Kelcy Koga couldn’t release the names of the victim or the two boys who came to his aid, but he said the school requires all its seniors to undergo CPR training during its Health Academy classes each year. The two seniors had just completed their training, he said.
“It’s always a great feeling they can save someone’s life. The training is invaluable,” he said. “What’s sad is it’s still one of our students that ended up in the situation. Fortunately for us, they had training and knew what to do. They didn’t panic, they called 911.”
Koga said he spoke very briefly with the victim’s mother, but was not able to ascertain his precise condition.
“I know it’s very serious, but I don’t know the official term,” he said.
This week marked the kickoff for a new Hilo Medical Center Foundation campaign to, among other goals, identify locations on the island that could benefit from having automated external defibrillators (AEDs) — machines that can monitor a patient’s heart rhythm and administer shocks to put the heart back in rhythm in an emergency.
According to the Hawaii County Department of Parks and Recreation, the Wainaku Gym does not have one of the machines, although many other sites on the island do.
“We have 24 recreational sites on the island (with AEDs),” said Parks and Rec spokesman Jason Armstrong.
Locations include various community centers, the Pauuilo Gym, Honokaa Gym, Andrews Gym, the Pahala Community Center, Auntie Sally’s Luau Hale, the Hilo Armory and more.
Armstrong said the AEDs were installed in January 2013 after the parks department received a grant from Civil Defense.
As of press time, the DOE was unable to provide any information about school policies regarding the availability and use of AEDs. Last Wednesday evening’s basketball event at Wainaku Gym was not an official school event, however, said Koga.
“It wasn’t a Waiakea High activity,” he said. “It was some kind of student league practice, or a pickup game or something.”
Email Colin M. Stewart at cstewart@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
