Madison Co. Sheriff’s Dept. receives gift to save lives

MADISON COUNTY, Tenn. — It is a big gift that could save your life.

The Browns Ruritan Club presented the Madison County Sheriff’s Department with a check Monday night to be used for a specific purpose — defibrillators. It is a small device with the power to save lives.

“We’re able to save a lot of lives and help a lot of people,” Madison County Sheriff John Mehr said.

On Monday, the Browns Ruritan Club presented the Madison County Sheriff’s Department with a $1,500 check to help purchase more automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, for the county, something club president Carol Ann Watson is glad to be part of. “Makes us feel great because that’s what our organization is about is supporting the community,”she said.

Madison County Sheriff John Mehr said it is a lifesaving device. “If we have them out there and we get a call on 911 and somebody needs it, hopefully a deputy is close by. And if they can get there in those few minutes, then that may save a person’s life.”

The goal is to equip every deputy’s car with one, which EMS workers and firefighters say will come in handy. “It’s amazing to have that immediate response, especially in the rural areas where you don’t have a fast response time,” said David Dorris, a firefighter trainer.

“If they can apply this AED and allow it to defibrillator that person, then their chances of survival increase tenfold,” said Paul Spencer, an EMS shift supervisor.

And they say using the device is easy and simple. “They’re not hard to use. Again, if you take a class, a CPR class, you’ll learn that as well as how to use the AED and again it might be a co-worker or a family member you might be using it on,” Spencer said.

“The more of these we can get in the county and the city, the more lives we may save,” Sheriff Mehr said.