Law enforcement officers are generally the first to respond to a call for help and with every second counting in an emergency, it makes sense that officers would be equipped with life-saving gear.
The Winnemucca Police Department, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, the Lander County Sheriff’s Office, the Pershing County Sheriff’s Department and the Lovelock Police Department are among the recipients of a 6.9 million dollar grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust that will equip 4,700 officers across Nevada with automated external defibrillators (AEDs).
AEDs are a part of life savings measures provided to someone having a heart attack and can truly make a difference. They can help officers administer shocks that help regulate heart beats, whether they are too fast or too slow, and can help evaluate heart rhythms during CPR.
“We are excited to receive any new life saving equipment for our officers to use in service to the community. Thankfully, we have partnered with Humboldt General Hospital Emergency Medical Service (EMS) for years and have had AEDs in patrol vehicles, but quantities are limited and not every patrol vehicle on the road has one in it. We are unsure how many devices our agency will be receiving, but any additions are good additions,” said Winnemucca Police Department Lieutenant, Jeff Murdock, in an email.
With local officers receiving calls regarding medical emergencies that can take them tens of miles away from medical help on a daily basis, it is important that every officer has the ability to help people as efficiently as possible, as the first five minutes are absolutely crucial to heart attack victims.
“Seconds count during a cardiac arrest,” said Walter Panzirer, a Helmsley trustee who was present at the grant announcement. “First responders across Nevada’s rural and frontier counties have great distances to cover, and this funding will ensure those who get to the scene before EMS give patients a better shot at survival.”
The grant awards the AEDs to local, county, state, federal and tribal law enforcement partners across the state of Nevada, according to Bobbie Sullivan, Manager of EMS for the Nevada Dept. of Health and Human Services, at the grant announcement on Oct. 12.
Sullivan added that training for the implementation of the AED for departments not already using AEDs is set to start as soon as possible so that they can get the devices into the hands of law enforcement officers.
“Law enforcement officials are often the first to arrive at any kind of emergency and it’s critical that we equip them with the best tools they need to provide the best care possible,” said Nevada State Governor, Steve Sisolak, in a video at the grant announcement.
The nearly seven million dollar allocation from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to Nevada is part of their initiative to offer more healthcare resources to rural law enforcement and first responders.
Combined with the grant for the Virtual Care Crisis program that was awarded to Nevada in June of this year, which provides immediate access to mental health professionals to those in mental health crisis, officers can respond confidently to a multitude of calls, knowing that they have what they need to help people.