Hicks donates AED to Alto ISD
'I hope you never use it,' Hicks says
BY LELAND ACKER

Leo Hicks l (left) and Alto school nurse Daryl Morris, RN, demonstrate the new Automated External Defibrilator (AED) which was donated by Mr. Hicks. Recent state legislation requires schools to have at least one AED per campus.

The Alto Independent School District is one step closer to complying with recent legislation thanks to the generosity of a long-time Alto ISD supporter. Leo Hicks recently donated a $1,700 Automated External Defibrillator (AED) to Alto ISD so that the district will have two AEDs for the three campuses.

"The (legislature) passed a bill requiring us to have one AED for each campus," said Daryl Morris, RN, who is the school nurse for Alto ISD. "We are in the process of getting them."

With the AED donated by Mr. Hicks, Alto ISD will now only have to acquire one more AED to be in compliance with state law.

"I felt like it was the thing to do," Mr. Hicks said. "(Alto ISD) needed one and I went to school here. I have family that went to school here."

Mr. Hicks said he saw the AEDs on television and contacted Alto ISD Superintendent Dr. Ray DeSpain, who said the district needed one for the other two campuses. Alto ISD already had an AED on the high school campus. Mr. Hicks said his ties to Alto ISD compelled him to donate the AED.

"I was on the school board for years," he said. "I always supported the school. I had four daughters and numerous grandkids attend school here. My great-grandchildren attend school here now."

Ms. Morris said the AED is easy to use.

"You attach the pads to the patient," she said. "It's an automated process. It reads the heart rate and if it's a shockable heart rate, it automatically shocks the patient. It's so easy, a child could do it."

Ms. Morris said Alto ISD staff will be trained on how to use the device during in-service training by Allied Health Mobil.

"We already have people trained on each campus for CPR," she said. "(Those) already know how to use an AED."

AEDs range in price from $1,700 to $3,000.