LIVINGSTON — Livingston Parish Sheriff’s deputy and school resource officer Brett Savant wanted to figure out how to keep students and staff safer at schools and he figured it out through the organization he founded less than a year ago.
Savant founded the Save Our Kidz organization devoted to providing additional first aid and life-saving devices to schools such as tourniquets and choking rescue devices, among other devices.
“What made me think about it is my little boy got bitten by a dog last March,” Savant said. “At home, we had to use a tourniquet on his hand because it was bleeding pretty bad. It made me think if a kid got hurt at school, we don’t have the stuff in school when we need it.”
“So I looked around trying to find somebody who was doing it and I couldn’t find anybody, so I said, ‘Well, I’ll just come up with my own,’ so we created Save Our Kids,” he added. “We collect donations and we outfit schools with 50 tourniquets at each school and we buy those life vacs.”
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The LifeVac is a non-powered, single-use airway clearance used to resuscitate a victim who has an airway obstruction when other protocols have not worked, according to the item’s website. LifeVac has a one-way valve that doesn’t allow any air to enter a choking victim on the downward motion.
“It’s way better than the Heimlich (maneuver),” Savant said. “We give each school four LifeVacs and 50 tourniquets to put in schools because our schools out here, none of them have it.
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“I think it’s something that we’ve never thought about,” he continued. “Honestly, I think for parents or teachers or school boards, everybody prays that school shootings don’t happen here but I don’t think there’s ever much forethought of what if one does happen, are we prepared?”
Those who want to donate to the organization can do so in three ways. The money donated goes toward supplying the schools with tourniquets.
According to the company’s website, you can donate at any Hancock/Whitney Bank, or online on the website. You can donate by check to Save Our Kidz, P.O. Box 496, Watson, LA 70786.
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