Delta Area Community Foundation recently presented a grant award to the Desha County Sheriff’s Office to purchase their first two automated external defibrillators (AED), with a goal of having an AED in every patrol vehicle.
Desha County has a population of roughly 12,000 people and is just over 800 square miles of mostly rural farm ground. The poverty level for the county is 25.6%, well above the national average of 13.6%. Approximately 11% of residents have no medical coverage of any kind.
“The Sheriff office’s patrol units have the greatest probability of responding to an emergency call of someone being in cardiac distress and may very well reach them before EMS could arrive,” said Sheriff Mitch Grant. “We had an incident earlier this year where a deputy responded to a call of a possible heart attack victim. The location was in a rural part of the county, about 15 miles from the responding EMS truck. The deputy arrived and began giving CPR until EMS arrived and took over the scene. The subject later died at the hospital. Had the deputy had an AED, that life may have been saved.”
“We are thrilled to award this grant to the Desha County Sheriff’s office for this important need,” said Randi Stinyard, executive director of Delta Area Community Foundation. “This is why we exist, to make grants that help the community be a better place to live for its residents. We hope that this grant will inspire others to help as well.”
Delta Area Community Foundation serves Desha and Lincoln counties and is committed to educational enhancement, addressing poverty challenges and local community development. The grant for the AED equipment was made through the Delta Area’s Giving Tree fund. Anyone can donate to this fund to help serve local nonprofits. For more information about Delta Area Community Foundation, contact Randi Stinyard at deltaarea@arcf.org or call 870-290-3168.