Hamilton County, TN - The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office is proud to announce (23) Automatic External Defibrillators (AED) have been purchased with grant money to be deployed in all marked supervisory vehicles patrolling throughout Hamilton County. The purchase of the AED’s was made possible after the HCSO was awarded a 2020 Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) for $29,700. This important initiative was developed by Chief Deputy Austin Garrett as a part of his vision to increase our personnel’s ability to provide critical, life-saving defibrillation to citizens when seconds count.

“With any cardiac emergency, time is of the essence to support the patient with CPR and automatic defibrillation. The addition of these AED’s in our supervisory vehicles will serve as a force multiplier by providing faster access to critical lifesaving services until advanced medical support from emergency based services arrive. I am proud that we as an agency will be able to provide this additional service to the citizens of Hamilton County. It is my goal and vision to continue to seek future grant funding and other opportunities to ensure every HCSO patrol vehicle has an AED available to provide lifesaving services to our citizens,” stated Chief Deputy Austin Garrett.

Today’s announcement is made in partnership with the Erlanger Heart and Lung Institute, Hamilton County 911 Communications District, and Zoll Medical, the company who manufactures the AED’s.

From a 911 telecommunications perspective, the addition of these 23 AEDs will assist with the ability of 911 operators to expand the operational range of their successful PulsePoint Respond App which was launched locally in Hamilton County in 2018. The vital PulsePoint Respond App is free and once a trained CPR user registers their AED, the app will alert them when an emergency occurs near them where CPR or AED could be utilized.

“Unified Emergency Communications is exciting about partnering with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office in this lifesaving program. The addition of AEDs in Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office supervisor vehicles greatly enhances our PulsePoint application to quickly identify a lifesaving AED located close to a sudden cardiac arrest event. With the AEDs being in a patrol vehicle the availability range of that AED is exponentially enhanced, to include events that occur in residences,” stated 911 Executive Director John Stuermer.

“We know from years of research that the sooner an AED is used on a patient with severe cardiac emergencies the better their chance of survival,” said Dr. Harish Manyam, Head of Cardiology at Erlanger Heart and Lung Institute. “According to national studies the survival rate for sudden cardiac arrest is less than 5% with survival rates decreasing by an estimated 7-10% for every minute before they receive care. It is estimated that between 30% to 50% of these patients would survive if AEDs were used within the first five minutes. Having these life-saving devices available in more first responder vehicles provides the benefit of an AED being where these cardiac events occur providing needed care sooner.”

The AEDs purchased were from ZOLL Medical, one of the world’s largest suppliers of AED technology. “We applaud HCSO in being proactive to help expand what it means to protect and serve by equipping their deputies with our unique life-saving G5 Fully Automatic AEDs with iCPR technology knowing they will likely be first on scene to a potential Sudden Cardiac Arrest. We have heard of countless stories where law enforcement have saved lives with our AED’s and are honored for our partnership,” stated Rob Williams, Senior Law Enforcement Specialist and Account Executive with Zoll Medical.

These AED’s will greatly provide the rapid deployment of urgent lifesaving technology to patients who need immediate defibrillation due to cardiac emergencies. A photograph of the new AED’s in use is below as well as a picture of one of our marked vehicles to which they will be deployed. Also attached is a media packet detailing important statistics and information related to the operation and deployment of AEDs.