There are almost 200 automated external defibrillators across campus, according to executive director of emergency management Brian Brauer.
AEDs are used to help people who are experiencing sudden cardiac arrest, so they're an important resource for emergency response.
Around 80 percent of campus is within a four-minute walk to obtain an AED. That's four minutes total — two minutes each way.
They're also in higher-risk areas like fitness facilities or areas where experiments are conducted with electricity, as well as UI police cars.
"Out of the last six cardiac arrests on campus since 2015, UIPD was the first on the scene for half of them," Brauer said. "Five of those six incidents resulted in a successful resuscitation where the individual was awake before the ambulance took them to the hospital."
Brauer also said that the UI department of public safety is adding narcan and bleeding control kits to each AED cabinet to offer further emergency response support.
"We focus on adding equipment with the greatest potential impact between an emergency occurring and first responders arriving," Brauer said. "The bottom line is that trained individuals who desire to help and have the equipment available lead to better outcomes in an emergency."
Brauer recommended downloading the PulsePoint AED app on a mobile device to see a map of AED locations on campus.
It's slightly out of date and does not include additions as of 2023, but most AED locations will be on the map.
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