CLAY COUNTY—Clay County and community partners will begin installing more than 500 new life-saving devices in outdoor spaces across the county on Friday and Saturday.

Nearly 540 AEDs, or Automated External Defibrillators, will be installed in public spaces like government buildings, churches, parks, sports complexes, boat ramps and senior centers. The county purchased these AEDs with federal funds from the National Opioids Settlement, which Lutheran Services of Florida manages, and distributed them to Clay County. County officials and Team Rubicon recently worked to mobilize the AEDs and install them in specialty-marked boxes.

Team Rubicon, a veteran-led humanitarian organization specializing in disaster response, and Operation Lifeline, a veteran-led nonprofit based in Green Cove Springs that finds veterans safe and accessible housing, will assist the county with installing the life-saving kits.

Each AED device will also be equipped with Narcan, an extension of the county's ongoing distribution efforts through the Community Paramedicine Program. The program will also host public training sessions on how to use AEDs and Narcan, and we will keep the community updated on future dates and locations for these events.

Narcan has been proven to save lives by reversing opioid overdoses, which, if untreated, can lead to cardiac arrest. When Narcan is collocated with an AED, both tools offer critical, life-saving interventions that are safe and easy to use together. It is far better to have access to these essential devices and never need them than to face a situation without them, potentially resulting in the loss of life. The deployment of AED kits is a crucial initiative that will save lives and benefit countless citizens.

While Clay County government buildings already have AEDs installed indoors, some will be installed outside to make them more accessible to the public. Seventy-five of these AEDs will also be installed inside the Clay County Sheriff’s Office and county vehicles.

Clay County will diligently track all AEDs installed and be able to perform regular maintenance remotely. Eventually, all AED kits will also be added to the PulsePoint app so users can quickly locate the one nearest them should they need it.

Using an AED Kit on someone who is suffering from cardiac arrest can drastically improve their chances of survival in the minutes before first responders arrive. According to the National Institutes of Health, the chances of survival are close to 90% if an AED is used within the first minute of collapse. For every minute after, the chances of survival decrease by 10%.

An AED can determine whether the patient's heart needs an electric shock. The device also provides automated verbal instructions on how to use it, and these AEDs, in particular, will provide instructions in multiple languages based on the input selected by hitting a prominent button on the device.

If you'd like to learn more about the specific AEDs that will be installed, visit this website: stryker.com/us/en/emergency-care/products/lifepak-cr2.html. You can also watch an instructional video at youtube.com/watch?v=YrqnRyqBCzw.

Clay County looks forward to bringing these life-saving tools to the community and helping spread awareness about how critical they can be during an emergency, whether it's a cardiac arrest or an opioid-related overdose, where every second counts.