Grant makes AEDs possible

WILLIAMSBURG — Evan Welsh, director of Williamsburg’s first responders, hopes to have publicly accessible automated external defibrillators in Williamsburg and North English by spring.

Welsh, who works for Iowa County Ambulance, told the Williamsburg City Council this month that the public health department was looking for ways to spend grant money, and Welsh had been thinking about getting AEDs for public use.

The AED project fits grant parameters, but the grant requires a commitment from the city.

“We need the city to … pay for the electricity for the box itself and installation,” Welsh said.

The AEDs are placed in lighted boxes that are heated to keep the batteries from getting too cold to work. The city also has the option of putting the devices indoors somewhere, such as in the lobby at city hall.

The units cost about $2,400 each. Williamsburg will get two, and North English one.

Council members discussed putting one at the recreation center or in the park on the square. The boxes lock so the devices won’t be stolen. When residents need to use the AEDs, they call 911 and dispatch gives them the code to unlock the box.

The big, yellow boxes are not the most pleasant things to look at, said Welsh, but they keep the AEDs available 24/7.

They aren’t used a lot, said Welsh, but if they save one life, they are worth the cost.

Williamsburg Police Chief Justin Parsons said Amana has a device and its been used a couple of times.

Welsh plans to have the grant application submitted by March 1 and the defibrillators in place by spring. He’s hoping to get devices for other towns, including Marengo, when grants are available.