Home Health Provides AED's To Sheriff's Office

Posted on March 9, 2016 Southwest Iowa Home Health is a department of George C. Grape Community Hospital and the home of Fremont County Public Health. Both Fremont County Public Health and George C. Grape Community Hospital participate in an emergency preparedness program to assist the hospital and community in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from the adverse effects of emergencies and disasters. As a part of this participation both are members of the Corner 3 Coalition (C3C) which consists of public health departments and hospitals from Fremont, Page, and Montgomery counties. Together these entities work alongside local Emergency Management to identify and mitigate gaps in preparedness.

The C3C currently receives federal grant funds disbursed by the state of Iowa to support their works. These funds are used to help cover costs associated with traveling to regular meetings, training, and at times purchases to ensure that our communities are able to handle any unforeseen circumstances. At a recent meeting, the C3C members were tasked with going back to their perspective counties and identifying areas where their communities may be at risk or lacking if an emergency were to take place. Fremont County Public Health began thinking about key roles in the initial response to emergencies. We found that most commonly our county deputies are the first on scene in all types of emergencies. This made us wonder if our deputies possessed all the tools to perform their best in the role of an initial responder.

With a little investigation we were able to find out that there are a total of 8 vehicles utilized by the department. All of the deputies are deemed first responders and are CPR certified. We were however a bit surprised to learn that not a single vehicle is equipped with an Automated External Defibrillator or AED. According to the CDC, less than 8% of people who experience a heart attack while outside of the hospital survive. CDC also reports that these deaths can be prevented with the use of an AED. It is clear that our first responders and our residents that they serve could greatly benefit from these devices.

Armed with this information, we at public health began the process of obtaining quotes and approval from both our state emergency preparedness grant contacts as well from the other members of the C3C. We proposed to utilize grant funds from both our own allotment as well as from the C3C pot of funds to cover the cost of 5 new AEDs. We were able to get these purchases approved through all channels. As a result we at Southwest Iowa Home Health, a department of George C. Grape Community Hospital and the home of Fremont County Public Health are proud to present the Fremont County Sheriff Department with 5 new AED machines for use in their patrol cars. Our hope is that this gift will reach many and assist our deputies in providing the best possible initial care to those in need.