SEQUIM — Life-saving devices are riding in patrol cars and awaiting emergencies in both Sequim and Port Angeles, thanks to a $9,600 investment by the Olympic Medical Center Foundation.
The foundation presented six automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, to the Sequim and Port Angeles police departments, the Sequim Boys & Girls Club and Holy Trinity Lutheran Church of Port Angeles on Thursday.
The club and the church both accommodate hundreds of people with their services and events, so they’re ideal locations for an AED, said Sara Maloney, associate executive director of the OMC Foundation.
The Port Angeles and Sequim police will each have two AEDs to carry in their patrol cars, Maloney added.
AEDs, portable electronic kits that cost $1,600 apiece, can save the life of a person in cardiac arrest by delivering an electrical shock. The device, designed to be simple to use, restores the heart’s rhythm long enough for the patient to get further help.
The foundation’s gifts were funded in large part by the foundation’s second annual Red, Set, Go! Heart Lunch in February, Maloney said.
She hopes to raise more money in the coming years, for more AEDs to be scattered across Clallam County.
“Our ultimate goal is to have an AED in every police vehicle,” Maloney said.
“Since this is the first year, we wanted to give to both communities,” of Port Angeles and Sequim. The Port Angeles Fire Department will provide any training needed at the four sites.
For information about the OMC Foundation, phone 360-417-7144.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladaily news.com.