Project Heart ReStart, a multi-organizational charitable effort to stock police and first responder departments with automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, delivered 168 such machines to 38 agencies across six Kentucky counties–Boone, Kenton, Campbell, Pendleton, Grant and Gallatin–at a special event on Thursday.
Held at the Boone County Sheriff’s Office, the event was the culmination of years-long fundraising efforts from St. Elizabeth Healthcare, Christ Hospital and Rotary Clubs in multiple counties. St. Elizabeth made an initial donation of $150,000 to kickstart the campaign. The initial donation purchased 76 machines.
The project began in Ohio, and the first two phases helped stock cruisers for multiple agencies in Hamilton County that respond to medical emergencies.
“Once complete, Project Heart ReStart will have purchased almost 400 AEDs for agencies across Hamilton County and Northern Kentucky,” according to an announcement from the program. “Phases I, II and III combined will make Greater Cincinnati one of the first AED-ready regions in the country.”