Mar 8, 2019 2 min read

In the next few months, the 11 district judges’ offices in Washington County will have automated external defibrillators that could potentially save the life of someone whose heart stops beating.

On Thursday, the county commissioners unanimously voted to purchase, through a state contract that does not require bidding, the defibrillators and cabinets. Bleeding-control kits, which collectively come in under the amount required for the public bidding process, will be added to the cabinets.

AEDs, supplies and cabinets will be purchased from Physio-Control Inc. of Redmond, Wash., at a cost of $65,502, and the bleeding-control kits, which cost $5,128, will come from Z-Medica, Wallingford, Conn.

The funding comes from state Act 13 fees on unconventional natural gas wells.

Also, two cabinets will be placed at the new Public Safety Department building at the Washington County Airport, and another will be used by the adult probation office. Mobile units will be deployed with the county bridge and parks department work crews.

“It started with the (county’s) safety committee and it kind of blossomed from there,” said Jeff Yates, director of public safety. “We did them incrementally in the county office building, and we were looking at other types of facilities to add them.”

The public safety department will also handle training in the use of the AEDs and bleeding-control kits.