Thanks to a $600 donation from the Tomah Memorial Hospital Foundation, the Wilton Police Department and Ambulance Service and the Ontario Police Department are equipped with life-saving automated external defibrillators.
Tomah Memorial Foundation President Pete Reichardt, left, foundation secretary Erin Dawley and foundation director Derek Burnstad presented a $600 ceremonial check to Wilton Police Chief and Ambulance Service Director Jeremy Likely and Ontario Police Chief David Rynes.
According to Rynes, his department lost an AED unit when a squad car was damaged by floodwaters in late August. Likely said he used the donation to purchase two units, one of which will be used by the Ontario department
An AED is a lightweight, portable device that delivers an electric shock through the chest to the heart. The shock can stop an irregular heart rhythm and allow a normal rhythm to resume in a heart in sudden cardiac arrest, which if not treated within minutes, quickly leads to death.
TMH Foundation president Pete Reichardt said the donation fulfills the mission to provide for the health of residents of Monroe County.
“When we take a look at the AED equipment, that saves lives that obviously are in health distress — so that fulfills our mission,” said Reichardt. “It’s very well-deserving from the foundation.”