The Metropolitan King County Council recognized the year-old partnership between the King County Sheriff’s Office and Public Health – Seattle & King County to equip deputies’ vehicles with life-saving automated external defibrillators (AEDs).

In its first year, the program was able to acquire AEDs and equip 78 vehicles, along with providing training for deputies and emergency dispatchers. Sheriff’s deputies are available in the field and are able to respond to emergencies quickly and sometimes arrive at a scene prior to emergency medical personnel.

During 2012, deputies and dispatchers were involved in utilizing their AEDs as well as cardio pulmonary resuscitation skills successfully on at least three occasions. The council recognized the five deputies and four dispatchers involved in those incidents, as well as Capt. Bryan Howard and Public Health Emergency Medical Services Community Programs Manager Linda Culley, who coordinated the program.

“Our deputies and emergency dispatchers are to be congratulated for volunteering for this extra duty and responding to help save at least three lives using the new AED equipment and CPR skills,” said Councilmember Lambert, chair of the Council’s Law, Justice, Health and Human Services Committee. “Our community is fortunate to benefit from this resourceful deployment of AEDs, which contributes to achieving the nation’s best cardiac arrest survival rate, now up to 52 percent.”

“The success of this program is due largely to the partnership between the Sheriff’s Office, King County Public Health and EMS,” said Sheriff John Urquhart.  “This is a great example of how teamwork benefits the citizens we serve.”