In an effort to help render aid during a response to a medical emergency, Glenn Family Services on Friday donated an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) to the Daviess County Sheriff’s Office.
The effort to equip patrol cruisers with AEDs is something that DCSO Patrol Division Commander Captain Duane Harper began working on several months ago to be able to provide additional lifesaving capability on calls.
“I’ve been doing this for 32 years, and probably 95% of the time I’ve been on has been in patrol,” Harper said. “I know all the tools and equipment they need. Being out in the rural community, this is something that we truly need. I made a promise to myself that I was going to try to get these for all of our cars. We have tremendous volunteer fire departments, paid crew, and ambulance service, but time is of the essence and we’re out there first sometimes.”
DCSO now has five AEDs distributed among their patrol fleet.
The AED model donated Friday is compatible with those that AMR Ambulance and the Daviess County Fire Department use. That means when those agencies arrive on scene, their AEDs can be connected to the leads of the DCSO AED to continue care without interruption as they take control.
“Due to the sometimes-rural nature of county law enforcement, it is not uncommon for DCSO patrol units to arrive at a scene well before an ambulance, and equipment such as AEDs absolutely mean the difference between life and death,” Sheriff Brad Youngman said. “I am very grateful to Glenn Family Services for this generous donation. It will save lives.”
Glenn Peyton Taylor Jr., of Glenn Family Services, said they were honored to play a role in helping provide a lifesaving tool for DCSO.
“This kind of gives them a leg up and we were happy to support the Sheriff’s Office,” he said. “We hope this is a sign of gratitude from us for the work that they do to make our community safer, and we encourage others in the community to do the same because together we can all make our community a little bit safer.”
In addition to AEDs, DCSO patrol cruisers are equipped with Narcan, tourniquets, and clotting kits. Every deputy is certified in CPR. Five patrol deputies also serve as volunteer firefighters and keep their trauma bags in their patrol cars for emergencies.
