Louisiana town outfits police vehicles with AEDs
Too often in the past, the Alexandria, La., police officers were the first responders on the scene of someone who had suffered a sudden cardiac arrest. Without automated external defibrillators (AEDs), their efforts at saving these people were handicapped. Like many police departments across the U.S., the Alexandria force has budgeted the money to acquire AEDs for its police vehicles.
So far, the department is on the track with 15 AEDs already in service, according to a report in The Town Talk.
The AEDs have been placed in one unit in each of the city's nine police zones, as well as in three supervisory units and three of the driving while intoxicated checkpoint units.
Alexandria Mayor Jacques Roy said the use of AEDs combined with chest compression-only resuscitation greatly increases the chance of saving lives, according to the report. "When you add an AED device to that method, survival rates go way up," Roy said.
The city had used approximately $20,000 to purchase the AEDs, which cost about $1,500 per piece, and it researching grants to purchase more AEDs.
So far, the department is on the track with 15 AEDs already in service, according to a report in The Town Talk.
The AEDs have been placed in one unit in each of the city's nine police zones, as well as in three supervisory units and three of the driving while intoxicated checkpoint units.
Alexandria Mayor Jacques Roy said the use of AEDs combined with chest compression-only resuscitation greatly increases the chance of saving lives, according to the report. "When you add an AED device to that method, survival rates go way up," Roy said.
The city had used approximately $20,000 to purchase the AEDs, which cost about $1,500 per piece, and it researching grants to purchase more AEDs.