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Local school district adds Med Sleds to emergency plan




By Kay Quinn

KSDK -- Worries about earthquakes or other natural disasters have the largest school district in St. Louis County beefing up its crisis plan. Now a device invented right here in St. Louis could help speed up an evacuation.

It's something you never want to think about. How you or your child would get out if you were hurt and your building wasn't safe.

"Me myself, I'm lucky enough that I can just walk out but other people that are in wheelchairs and stuff I would have never thought about it before," says Lauren Husky, a Eureka High School junior.

Administrators in the Rockwood School District have more than 1,800 reasons to think about it at Eureka High alone. That's why they decided to put these red pouches containing plastic Med Sleds in the school halls.

"A natural disaster we could see it in the event of a fire if there's something perhaps where an elevator isn't working," or if someone were injured, says Kim Cranston, spokesperson for the Rockwood School District.

Des Peres entrepreneur Clifford Adkins invented the Med Sled in his basement.

"Well, we started with a hunting product actually," says Adkins.

Then the U.S. military requested them to remove injured troops from the streets of Baghdad. 600 hospitals, including Barnes-Jewish, quickly followed with orders of their own.

"We're working on sending sleds to Haiti right now, the sled will actually act as a stretcher," says Adkins.

Because there's no carrying involved, a smaller person can pull a bigger person. And it can be dragged where ceiling tiles or bricks may litter the ground.

Med Sled is now in all Rockwood schools and it's even branching out from the educational setting to nursing homes, corporations, federal buildings and even the funeral industry.

Rockwood teachers and staff are now undergoing online and hands-on training.

"Very easy," says Morgan Burkes, a math teacher at Eureka High. "Just felt like a rope with no slack, hardly going through my hands."

One of those things you hope you never have to use, but, "if ever something were to happen, it's a great asset to have something like that, to ensure that everyone gets out safely," says Burkes.

The sleds cost $300 each, which is less expensive than some evacuation chairs used in hospitals. Other local school districts, including Kirkwood and Lindbergh, are looking at investing in some sleds as well.

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