Officers from the Corbin Police Department received Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) for each active patrol car in the city as a donation from the Corbin Rotary Club on June 18.
Rotary President Todd Peeler presented four AEDs to Assistant Police Chief Coy Wilson and Detective Robert Hodge to be kept inside active patrol cars. According to the American Red Cross, an AED is a user-friendly medical device that analyzes a heart’s rhythm to administer the correct amount of electrical shock to return it to an effective rhythm. In the event of a sudden cardiac arrest, first responders will have the AEDs readily available to assist on site.
“Since we are generally the first ones on scene, it can be a life saving device if someone’s having a heart attack,” Wilson said.
Wilson spoke to the club about the limited staffing of the Corbin Police Department. He said the department currently has 19 officers, including himself and Police Chief Rusty Hedrick, out of the 23 it should have for the size of the city. He said that number does not account for active expansion of city limits into Laurel County.
Rotary President Todd Peeler said the club has been working to secure the donation for most of his one-year term. It is part of the Heart ReStart program, a larger endeavor among Rotary groups to outfit patrol cars with AED equipment. In total, the AEDs cost the Corbin Rotary Club $5,711. Peeler said the funds were pulled from a certificate of deposit donated to the club around 30 years ago.
“All of the policemen have been trained on using these devices. They just didn’t have the money to purchase them,” Peeler said. “The hope is they will never have to be used, but if they are, we hope they will be able to save someone’s life.”
