DATE: September 26, 2019
By: 44 News – Tyrone Morris
PIKE COUNTY — Two Evansville philanthropists found a unique way on to give back to their community by donating 18 AEDs to first responders in Pike County. Jim and Carol Havens, in memory of Frank and Eula Ficklin, Carol’s grandparents, the Haven family knew the area was underserved.
Carol Havens said in a more rural county sometimes the funds aren’t there for things like AED. She and her husband stepped up to the plate and helped the community her family was raised in.
HeartSaver Chairperson Kiresten Wagmeister says, “The big news is that this county today is going from zero AEDs to 18. That’s big.”
Deaconess HeartSaver presented 18 AED’s on Wednesday at the Pike County Sheriff’s Department.
Carol Havens says, “Well, my husband and I are very involved with philanthropy in the Vanderburgh County area, one of the programs I helped create and run, is called Giving for Impact, which teaches people that are donors, to give that has impact in the community, what are greater impact we have, being in Pike County and giving AED for all the first responders.”
The 18 AED’s will be spread through the county. Not just the sheriff’s office, but also helpings numerous agencies, like the Petersburg Police Department, the Winslow Police and fire department and the Spurgeon Town Marshall.
So far across the Tri-State, the Deaconess HeartSaver committee has raised enough money to place 370 AED’s in area schools, community centers, and government offices.
Sheriff Kent Johnson says, “I want the community to know that we are better equipped now to handle any medical emergency, more so than to be on scene and do CPR, now we have the AED’s and were able to increase the survival rate of a sudden cardiac event”
According to first responders in Pike County, having the AED onboard will really make a difference.