The Noblesville Police Dept. has been awarded a grant from the National Heart Council, a special program of the National Emergency Medicine Association, to buy an automated external defibrillator for use by its officers.
“Our department’s goal is to eventually give each of our road vehicles a working AED defibrillator,” Noblesville Police Chief Kevin Jowitt said. “Thanks to NEMA, we are one step closer to reaching that goal.”
Adding another AED to the department’s inventory can increase the chances of saving a life or reducing injury when a police officer encounters a life-threatening cardiac arrest situation. A Noblesville officer pulls an AED for runs on an average of three times a month and uses it between one to three times per year, according to Jowitt.
“When an emergency situation such as cardiac arrest occurs, police officers are often the first ones on the scene,” Jowitt said. “The quicker a victim receives treatment, the greater the chances he or she will survive.”
