b'Parks and Recreation NewsCITY TO INSTALL LIFESAVINGjogging at his daughters soccer practice. An advocate for AED AED MACHINES AT PARKSand CPR certification, Quinn trained his daughters soccer coaches in the lifesaving measures just weeks prior and was saved by the very coaches he instructed.Quinn directed Cope to The Matthew Mangine Jr. One Shot Foundation, headed by Kim and Matt Mangine Sr., dedicated to educating parents, coaches, and athletes about the number of preventable sudden deaths. The foundation raises awareness about sudden cardiac episodes, which claim the life of one high school athlete every 3.5 days across the country. The pair started the foundation in honor of their son, Matthew, who passed away from cardiac arrest in June 2020 at age 16 while playing soccer at St. Henry District High School.The foundation paid for one of the AED machines and helped secure discounts through partner organizations for the others, lowering the price to $6,600 for all four units. Cope said another supplier quoted $7,500 for just one unit.Parks and Recreation Coordinator Arron Cope and Assistant Chief Phil Dietz with the Zoll AED that will be installed at this shelter at Memorial Park.Three city parks will soon be equipped with automated external defibrillator machines in the event of a medical emergency. One AED will be installed at each of the two shelters at Memorial Park, and both Shadybrook and Sterling Staggs parks will have one AED each.Those are the three parks that are managed by the city and have organized sports practicing at the facilities, Parks and Recreation Program Coordinator Arron Cope said. They are the parks that have the most foot traffic. Memorial Park is the site of our main events, and has the pickleball courts, basketball courts, jogging track and playgrounds.AED machines can mean the difference between life andThe IFD conducted CPR/AED training for city employees. Pictured at the death during a cardiac emergency. The AEDs are easy totraining (left to right): Captain/EMT Brian Claybern, Assistant Chief/ EMS Director Phil Dietz, Parks and Recreation Coordinator Arron Cope, operate and have audio instructions walking users step byFirefighter/EMT Cody Brownfield, and Firefighter/EMT Sean Barth.step through the process. The units will be mounted in heated and ventilated cabinets so they may be kept outside and usedThey really helped get the cost down to accommodate our all year round. No keys are required to access the units, butbudget, Cope explained. At the end of the day, I hope its a they will be mounted in view of cameras, will have alarms,waste of money because they are never needed, but if they and will be Wi-Fi enabled for tracking purposes. are, theres no price on it.Cope spearheaded the AED project after witness- City Administrator Chris Moriconi said keeping ing firsthand a tragic situation in another city.residents safe is a top priority and the addition of A man suffered cardiac arrest and lost his lifethe AEDs is well worth the cost.because no one nearby had proper medicalThe city parks are heavily utilized by residents training and there was no access to lifesavingof all ages, Moriconi noted. Installing AEDs equipment like AEDs.will provide valuable lifesaving minutes should Then I saw some machines at a park in Cincinnatithe need arise. As we all know, emergencies dont and wondered why it wasnt something that we hadalways happen at the most convenient locations. The here in Independence, Cope said. AEDs in our largest parks will give all visitors some added peace of mind.Cope contacted Mike Quinn, a certified athletic trainer who, himself, was saved by AED machines and CPR after facingAEDs in the parks is the first step. Cope is partnering with sudden cardiac arrest in March 2023. Quinn collapsed whileboth the Independence Fire District and the Independence 6 Continued on page 7'