Bartlett Police Department receives AED donations

The Bartlett Volunteer Fireman’s Association was thanked during a village board meeting Tuesday for donating five automated external defibrillator machines to the Bartlett Police Department.

“It’s difficult to put into words what a tremendous donation this is,” said police Cmdr. Michael McGuigan, adding that the donation saved the village “several thousand dollars.”

The particular model of AEDs that were purchased have the latest technology, McGuigan said. They are specifically designed to cut a few seconds off the amount of time it takes to connect the machine to the victim and they have an easy way to switch from adult to child use.

“While it doesn’t sound like a lot, when oxygen is not going to the brain, 10, 15, 20 seconds becomes crucial,” McGuigan said.

The machines will be placed in the police department building and police cars. McGuigan provided examples of how police use of AEDs in Bartlett saved the lives of three people in who are still alive today. Those stories included a man who went into cardiac arrest while driving on Route 59 in 2002; a man playing softball at Apple Orchard Park who went into cardiac arrest in 2005; and a worker who went into cardiac arrest while cleaning up the police station’s shooting range in 2005.

“So, saving the money is nice, but the reality is this — due to your generous donation, citizens of this town and people who come visit, they’re chances of surviving cardiac arrest are better today than they were yesterday,” McGuigan said.