LifeVac to Donate Choking Rescue Kits to All US Schools

LifeVac will be donating one free choking rescue device kit to every school across America. 

The company made the announcement in a statement released this week. 

"Every year, countless choking incidents occur in our schools," said LifeVac inventor Arthur Lih. "We are committed to making sure that no more of these incidents end in tragedy."

The announcement comes months after Josue Nolasco, a 13-year-old boy in Virginia, choked on his school lunch and died three days later, prompting his family to call for safer equipment for emergencies such as this to be installed in schools. 

"I don't want anyone to go through what I've gone through," said Josue's mother, Karina Nolasco, in an interview with WTVR. 

The family stated that several staff members at Providence Middle School administered abdominal thrusts upon realizing Josue was choking, and that they performed CPR when he lost consciousness.

According to the family, a piece of meat was stuck in their son's lung and trachea. 

They wondered whether there were ways other than abdominal thrusts that could be used to prevent another child from suffering a similar fate. 

LifeVac suggested to WTVR that its anti-choking device could be a good backup. 

"If you can't push it out, with the abdominal thrusts, you suck it out," Lih said. "So, it's a little plunger, you push it down, the air comes out to the side, so it won't push it further down, which would be bad. There's a little valve that locks and creates a suction."

One child dies every five days from choking. Further, about 5,000 choking deaths occur every year in the U.S., making choking the fourth leading cause of accidental death. 

Lih explained that in placing a LifeVac in every school across the U.S. he was motivated by the statistics. 

"Let's make every classroom in America safer," he said. "Join us in this mission. Because every second counts."

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