O’Brien County Public Health donated one portable AED to each of the county’s three school districts. The funds to purchase the $1730.97 lifesaving devices came from the Public Health Emergency Preparedness fund. The funds are provided by the state of Iowa and came to Public Health through the county’s Emergency Management Administration. Jared Johnson, EMA Director submitted the plan to the state of Iowa to received the funds and the state approved the plan and funded it.
Kim Morran, Public Health Director demonstrated some features of the new units, explaining the talking feature that gives directions for use. She noted that the units speak in both English and Spanish. She also had a brief conversation about existing AEDs distributed in some public places are aging.
Now that the school districts have the new AEDs supplies become the responsibility of the district. Supplies include pads, including youth sized pads, which can cost as much as $150 per year per unit. Batteries are also a consumable supply. They last from 3 to 5 years each and carry a price tag of $300 – $500 each.
AED is an acronym for Automated External Defibrillator. An AED is used for sudden events when a person’s heart stops beating.
Joining Morran to donate the AEDs was Carla Starkenburg, Public Health Nurse. Accepting the AEDs were: Savannah Sauer, Sheldon School Nurse; Brittany Goodchild, South O’Brien District Nurse and Holly Jungers, Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn District Nurse.