Garrettsville – A life-saving donation was made during the December Village Council meeting last week when an AED (Automated External Defibrillator) was presented to Community EMS by the Garrettsville Youth Softball/Baseball League for installation at the Brosius Road Park. This device was furnished by the Kenny Evans Foundation, which raises money to purchase and distribute AEDs throughout Portage County.
League manager Mark Bailey said, “I’d like to highlight the organization that is dedicated to getting these devices to our local parks. Lisa and the volunteers over there are really the ones to take the credit.”
The Foundation was established by Lisa Evans Bey in memory of her father, former youth umpire Kenny Evans, who passed away in 2011 from a heart attack while umpiring a Little League baseball game in Edinburg. With its annual golf outing at Paradise Lake Golf Club in Suffield, the Foundation raises money to purchase AEDs for youth sports fields throughout the county, covering softball, baseball, soccer and football programs.
Last year, the Foundation made an AED available to the village park (near the restrooms) by the Garrettsville Library. This year, in addition to the Brosius Road Park, the Foundation donated an AED to Ravenna Parks softball fields, for a total of 21 AED donations in Portage County over the past eight years. Each unit includes both adult and pediatric pads and costs $1,500-$2,000, depending on which brand each community EMS/fire department uses.
According to the foundation’s Facebook page, “There was not an AED on site the day Kenny collapsed. We want to help to make sure that if anyone ever collapses again, whether it be an umpire, a coach, a parent, or child, our little league fields are prepared and equipped with AED’s. If we can help save just one person and honor Kenny, having fun while doing it, it is all worth it!”
AEDs are used to sustain anyone experiencing sudden cardiac arrest. It’s an easy-to-use, medical device that can analyze the heart’s rhythm and, if necessary, deliver an electrical shock (defibrillation) to help the heart re-establish an effective rhythm. Bey says that quick access to a defibrillator increases survival rates by 10 percent for every minute saved between the time of cardiac arrest and the time that passes before an EMS arrives to provide life support.
According to the Red Cross, sudden cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death in the United States. More than 350,000 people experience cardiac arrest every year. Currently, the only way to restore a regular heart rhythm during cardiac arrest is to use an AED.
The AED at Brosius Road Park will be installed in Spring 2020 at the pavilion for easy access in case of a cardiac emergency.
Bailey said, “We are extremely thankful to the Foundation for this AED. We are all about safety for our players, coaches and fans. If there’s one more thing we can do to secure everyone’s safety, this is it. Fortunately, I haven’t seen the need for an AED yet during a game but the potential certainly exists!”
Bey and her husband Adam have four children, all who play ball in and around Suffield. She said that most people don’t initially sense the value of having an AED within reach. “When it happens to you, then you get serious about it. And we continue to provide AEDs in honor of my dad. The outing is a great way to remember him and to get behind a great cause, protecting our kids and our families.”
Anyone interested in supporting the Kenny Evans Foundation or in receiving an AED for their community ballpark can email Lisa Evans Bey at lme7593@aol.com.
