HAMILTON COUNTY — Sitting inside the Hamilton County Health Department, Mark Hall is talking about the importance of AEDs.
"I quite literally believe I would not be here if it were not for the AED," said Hall.
Hall's heart stopped while lying on an operating table almost 20 years ago, but it's a day he vividly remembers.
"It was a scary day," said Hall.
Hall says he was in for a heart procedure when his cardiologist realized something wasn't right.
"I was out for a little over a minute and I woke up to the rather distinct odor of burning flesh and hair from where they had to hit me with the AED. It only took once and I was back in normal rhythm," said Hall.
Hall is also a part of the Hamilton County Council. They're working with the Hamilton County Health Department to put two dozen AEDs on trails, parks and near schools.
Carmel, Noblesville, Westfield, Atlanta, Cicero and Sheridan are being provided with $20,000 to install AED stations.
"Our trail system is expanding greatly in Hamilton County, so our user increase is going up on our trails. This makes another nice, logical place to start putting infrastructure in place," said Jason Lemaster, with the Hamilton County Health Department.
Sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death in the United States.
The AEDs will be housed in climate-controlled cabinets, known as a SaveStations, which can tolerate extreme weather. They will be monitored 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Use of the devices does not require specialized training.
