West Orange Reexamines Lifesaving Devices In Wake Of Hamlin Incident

WEST ORANGE, NJ — A discussion about the need for more lifesaving medical equipment in public places – especially automated external defibrillators – has surged in the days after Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills suffered a cardiac arrest during a nationally televised football game. And West Orange is no exception, town officials say.

Hamlin has since left the hospital, and by all accounts is on the road to recovery thanks to trained medical professionals who sprang into action using an automated external defibrillator (AED). It was an incident that spurred the town’s newly installed mayor, Susan McCartney, to ask local West Orange Fire Chief Anthony Vecchio to check on the need – and state of repair – of all AEDs in a municipal building.

In 2021, the West Orange Fire Department was awarded an Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in the amount of $80,233 for the replacement of 31 AED units.

The grant award provided for units with state-of-the-art features, which included technology that monitors chest compression depth, heart rhythm and other factors needed to perform “high-quality CPR.”

The AFG program required a 10 percent match from the award recipient. The West Orange Township Council, which McCartney served on as a member, approved a resolution to accept the award and provide the matching funds that year.

“We are extremely pleased that FEMA recognized our needs with that grant,” Vecchio said, referring to the 2021 AFG award.

“According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, most sudden cardiac deaths occur outside the hospital, with only 5 percent or less of them successfully resuscitated,” Vecchio said. “Communities with personnel trained in CPR and the use of AEDs had twice as many victims survive compared to communities with personnel trained only in CPR. The acquisition of these units will help us to equip all our front-line vehicles and public spaces with the most current and effective technology.”

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