On Thursday, King’s Daughters Health Foundation and King’s Daughters Auxiliary gave out automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to seven Lawrence County organizations as part of their AEDs for Our Communities Program.

Those included Rock Hill School District, Elizabeth Township Volunteer Fire Department, Coal Grove Fire Department, Beulah Baptist Church in Proctorville, Aid Volunteer Fire Department and Windsor Volunteer Fire Department.

AEDs are medical devices that can deliver an electrical shock to an individual suffering from sudden cardiac arrest, a condition that affects more than 350,000 Americans each year. Only about 10 percent of people who experience a cardiac arrest outside of a hospital setting survive. 

18 other organizations in Scioto County, Greenup County and other parts of Kentucky got AEDs, as well as a case for it, pads and batteries. Recipients were also trained in its use through the King’s Daughters CPR Training Center. 

The groups that got the AEDs were either non-profit or volunteer, didn’t have an AED, serve the community and the priority was first responders, especially ones in rural areas.

“AEDs can be expensive and purchasing one just isn’t in the budget for many rural or volunteer organizations,” Laura Patrick, KDMC Health Foundation director, said, during the presentation at the KDMC Pavilion in Flatwoods, Kentucky.

Matt Jenkins, the chief of the Volunteer Fire Department, said his department was “extremely happy” to get an AED.

“This is a huge get for us,” he said, adding that it will the AED will be put either on one of their engines or on the command vehicle, which is always on scene at every call the department gets. “It is extremely important to us, it is a matter of life or death. With them donating this to us, it takes a huge burden off of us. It is a huge piece of equipment that will get utilized at some point and will hopefully save someone’s life.”

Larry Delawder, chief of the Windsor Volunteer Fire Department, said because of the department is so rural, it often takes them some time to get to calls.

“So, this could be a life changing piece of equipment for us,” he said. “We have a lot of elderly people in our community and we are a low-funded department, so all the equipment we can get is great.”

Their AED will go on the department’s rescue truck “because it rolls on all car wrecks, medical runs and so forth.”  

This is the sixth year for program and 150 AEDs have been donated to organizations in Lawrence and Scioto counties in Ohio and in Boyd, Carter, Elliot, Floyd, Greenup, Lawrence, Lewis and Martin counties in Kentucky.

For any organization that needs to have their AED checked to see if it is up to date, the hospital will be doing a AED Roundup from 1-4 p.m. on April 19 at the CPR Training Center, 2432 Carter Ave., Ashland, Kentucky. For information, call Kim Howard at 606-408-09297.