Kendall County residents suffering from heart issues will have a better chance at survival when disaster strikes now that seven automated external defibrillators have been acquired by the sheriff’s department.
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Six of the devises were funded using grant money from ComEd. The grant money was received through ComEd’s National Safety Council, which provides grants for community safety improvements. The seventh unit was donated by the device’s distributor, Second Chance Cardiac Solutions in Yorkville.
Kendall County Sheriff Dwight Baird said his office had no out of pocket cost for the devices.
“The goal of any first responder is the preservation of life,” Baird said. “Often times the police are first on the scene, and having the ability to intervene in a life or death situation quickly will benefit Kendall County residents, and will save lives. The fact we were able to obtain these machines at no cost to the taxpayer is even better.”
According to Baird, patrol and corrections deputies have received training on the devices, which are now being carried by deputies on duty. The devices are not only fully automatic defibrillators, they also provide feedback regarding CPR.
Baird said the devices coach officers to ensure CPR is at the correct pace, and at the correct depth.
The devices are also compatible with many of those used by Kendall County fire departments, streamlining the process of getting critically ill patients to an emergency room alive, he said.
Deputy Jennifer Bresnahan, who started with the sheriff’s office in 2012, spearheaded the project and ultimately won the ComEd grant for the office.
Baird also recognized Bryan and Elizabeth Heriaud, who founded Second Chance Cardiac Solutions in Yorkville in 2014. The business not only distributed the six units which were purchased with the grant money, but donated a seventh device at no cost to the department.
“We are very excited to support the efforts of the Kendall County Sheriff’s Department as they equip their deputies with life-saving automated external defibrillators,” Elizabeth Heriaud said.