Volusia County to present AEDs to thirteen organizations.

Written by Kristen Schmutz

Belden Communications News

Volusia County's Public Protection Department is donating and training thirteen non-profit organizations and businesses to use portable automated external defibrillators (AEDs) at 9 a.m. on Friday, April 21, 2023, at the Historic Courthouse's second-floor training room, located at 125 W. Indiana Ave in DeLand.

According to a release, the organizations, which had applied for the AEDs, are the American Legion Post 267, Christ the King Church, Riviera Country Club, Daytona Beach Moose Lodge #1263, United Way of Volusia-Flagler Counties, Space Coast Baptist Church, and seven Boys & Girls Clubs. The cost of an AED ranges from $1,300 to $1,700, and the Public Protection Department received grants from the Florida Department of Health's Emergency Medical Services Trust Fund to cover the equipment costs.

“The AEDs are designed so people with little or no training can use them. Once activated, an AED will play instructions out loud for how to use it,” said Mark Swanson, Public Protection Director.

The AED was invented in 1978, using sensors to detect rapid or irregular heartbeats, which are common causes of sudden cardiac death. If administered promptly and correctly, the device can restore a normal heart rhythm by delivering an electrical shock across the person's chest.