Minneapolis-based University of Minnesota Medical School received an $18.8 million grant June 7 to provide law enforcement officers and first responders across the state with automated external defibrillators.
The three-year project, funded by the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, aims to equip every law enforcement vehicle in the state with a defibrillator and train agencies to deliver immediate care prior to the arrival of emergency medical services. The project will supply 8,300 devices.
"Seconds count during a cardiac arrest," said Walter Panzirer, a Helmsley trustee. "This funding will ensure those who get to the scene before EMS arrives give patients a better shot at survival."