BURLINGTON, Ky. — Representatives from a project dedicated to saving lives delivered automated external defibrillators Thursday to law enforcement agencies from all over northern Kentucky.
A man who has been at the forefront of raising AED awareness after losing his son said it was a huge step toward preventing families from experiencing the pain his family went through.
Matthew Mangine lost his son, Matthew Jr., to sudden cardiac arrest in 2020 at a soccer practice when he was just 16 years old. He and his wife have since dedicated their lives to raising awareness about the importance of AEDs while also getting them into the hands of people who can use them to save lives and training those people.
Mangine said the pain never goes away, but days like Thursday give him comfort.
“You have your good days and your bad days, but the positive is we have more good than bad because what we’re doing with the foundation in his honor really helps keep his memory alive,” he said.
Mangine is a committee member for Project Heart ReStart, which delivered 168 AEDs to 38 law enforcement agencies across six northern Kentucky counties Thursday at the Boone County Sheriff’s Office.
The program started at the Christ Hospital Health Network and has expanded into northern Kentucky to place the mobile, easy-to-use devices in police vehicles. St. Elizabeth Healthcare and members of rotary clubs of Cincinnati, Covington, Florence, Kenton County and Falmouth have raised money to purchase the units, which Avive Solutions supply.
“Your chance of survival goes down by 10% every minute that you’re in cardiac arrest," said Clay Thomas, local account executive for Avive. "So the quicker we can perform CPR and get an AED applied, the better."
Major Philip Ridgell of the Boone County Sheriff’s Office said the 20 devices his department is receiving come at the perfect time, as it was getting ready to phase out the AEDs it had for the last decade.
“The mere fact that we have those in our cars and we have quick access to them and combined with the other training, CPR and some other things really make a difference to our community,” Ridgell said.
There has been an overall increase in AED awareness and the push to get more of them out there following tragedies such as what happened to Mangine Jr. and NFL player Damar Hamlin.
Mangine said he can’t help but think about what could’ve been had an AED been applied to his son sooner, but he’s proud of the impact he’s making long after his passing.
“I don’t think people realize yet how big of an impact this is going to have," Mangine said. "With 168 AEDs in every police car, I would say our first save is going to come in a pretty timely fashion here in northern Kentucky."
Wherever the need for that save comes, there will be officers at the ready.
Once complete, Project Heart ReStart will have purchased almost 400 AEDs for agencies across Hamilton County and northern Kentucky. The project will make greater Cincinnati one of the first AED-ready regions in the country.