Milltown police get lifesaving devices

By JO ANN SPIETH-SAYLOR
Staff Writer
jsaylor@seidata.com

The Milltown Police Dept. added a device to each of its new police cruisers last week that could save lives.

Two Lifepak 500 AEDs (automated external defibrillators), one for each of the Ford Crown Victorias the town recently purchased, was delivered Thursday morning by the American Heart Association.

The battery-powered devices have voice prompts that "talk" the operator through the necessary steps to restart a stopped heart by sending it an electric charge via pads positioned on the chest. The units are used in conjunction with CPR.

"Equipping police cruisers with AEDs was something I wanted to accomplish several years ago while I was at another police department," said Milltown Chief Marshal Ray Saylor, a certified emergency medical technician and former volunteer firefighter.

After being hired in Milltown in March 2001, Saylor talked with Jennifer Riley, who was with the American Heart Association at the time, about getting AEDs. Riley wrote a grant to the Harrison County Community Foundation for the AEDs for the police department.

In its letter awarding the grant, the Foundation said: "The mission of the HCCF is to enhance the quality of life for Harrison County and its citizens. The grants committee has determined that your project admirably furthers this mission."

But the grant amount was only enough to purchase one AED.

"When the heart association heard about what we were trying to accomplish, they were able to assist us with funding for the second AED," Saylor said.

Beverly Turner, the AHA's senior regional manager for emergency cardiovascular care for Indiana, negotiated a reduced price with Medtronic Physio-Control, an AED manufacturer, that allowed the Milltown Police Dept. to purchase two AEDs with the Foundation grant. One Lifepak 500 typically cost between $2,800 and $3,200.

"It's an excellent idea," Taylor said of having AEDs in police cruisers. When she was at the Milltown police station Thursday morning, she told how the Delaware County Sheriff's Dept. used its new AED for the first time: They saved the life of the sheriff.

Taylor said she didn't know of any other marshal department in the state besides Milltown that has AEDs. "This says a lot about how small police departments can be used," she said. Saylor said he appreciates the funding from the Harrison County Community Foundation. "There is no better way to spend this money than on equipment that may save lives," he said.

The AHA says 600 people die each day from sudden cardiac arrest, where the heart is thrown off rhythm and quivers rather than beats. Heart attack, drowning, electrocution, choking, smoke inhalation and other emergencies can trigger cardiac arrest.

"When cardiac arrest strikes, survival is measured in minutes, and not many of them," said Marc Jennings, communications director of the Kentuckiana Metro American Heart Association "Defibrillation must begin within three to five minutes. Chances of survival fall 10 percent with each passing minute.

"Police in Milltown will be in a better position to provide help, thanks to the two automated external defibrillators," he said.

The AEDs are very compact compared to earlier defibrillators.

"When I first started in EMS, about 20 years ago, the cases were five times as big as they are now," Saylor said.

On Thursday morning, after Taylor and Jennings presented the AEDs, Ed Hausenstein, a paramedic with the Emergency Medical Services at Harrison County Hospital in Corydon, trained Sgt. Conrad Bishop and reserve officer John Stinson how to use the Lifepak 500. (Saylor, who's already certified to use AEDs, said Milltown's other reserve officers will be trained later.)

"You've got the best here," Hausenstein told the officers. "I'm a big fan of the Lifepak.

"These AEDs are right where they need to be - in police cars. Fire departments are excellent sources, too, but in police cars you're right there."

By Indiana law, certified ambulances must carry defibrillation devices. Frequently, police are the first on the scene, Turner said, so it makes sense for law enforcement to carry AEDs.

Saylor said it is not his intention to replace anyone but rather to enhance other emergency personnel.

"So often police get into things that don't appear to be proactive," Saylor said. "This is something that really can make a difference."

The new police cars in Milltown allowed the police department to "retire" a car that "was not designed for police work," Saylor said, and to replace another "old, antiquated vehicle," a Chevy Caprice that was held back as a pool car/reserve unit.

"The cars were replaced as part of the restructuring of the department, to bring it into the 21st century, that began about a year ago," he said.

The Crown Victorias, which were ordered at the first of the year on a lease/purchase agreement, are identical with the exception that one is equipped with a light bar while the other only has side markings and is designed for K-9. The base price of the cars was $20,400, and the monthly payment for both vehicles is $1,000.

Saylor said he is continuing to work on applying for grants to offset the cost of the vehicles. He also hopes to equip the pool car with an AED.

"My goal is to see an AED in every police car in Indiana," Saylor said, and he is willing to help other police agencies obtain funding to purchase the portable defibrillators.

An announcement last week by the Indiana State Police may make it easier for departments to get AEDs. The state police is preparing a request for a Rural Access to Emergency Devices Grant to buy AEDs and fund training. The state police envision including town marshals from eligible counties as
community partners, meeting a stipulation of the grant.

For more information about CPR and AED training, call 1-877-AHA-4CPR.