(Batesville, IN) – Margaret Mary Health, The Christ Hospital Health Network, and other community partners delivered 74 Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) to law enforcement agencies in Ripley and Franklin counties on Monday during an event on MMH’s main campus announcing the expansion of Project Heart Restart into Southeastern Indiana.
A total of $148-thousand was raised as part of the Phase Four Project Heart Restart.
Contributors to Phase Four of the project include MMH, The Christ Hospital Health Network, Ripley County Community Foundation, Franklin County Community Foundation, Ripley County Health Department, Zoll, Cintas, The City of Batesville and numerous community donors.
Through the four phases of the program, the partnership has raised more than $1 million to purchase nearly 500 AEDs throughout the Tri-State.
Project Heart Restart began supplying the devices in law enforcement vehicles in 2023 shortly after Buffalo Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest event that happened in Cincinnati on Monday Night Football.
Statistics indicate having an AED for first responders on the scene of a cardiac event increases the survival rate from 10- to 40-percent.
Speakers at Monday’s announcement included Margaret Mary Health President & CEO Liz Leising; Debbie Hayes, the President & CEO of The Christ Hospital Health Network; Steve King with the Rotary Club of Cincinnati; Ripley County Community Foundation Executive Director Amy Streator; Franklin County Community Foundation Executive Director Shelly Lunsford; Ripley County Sheriff Rob Bradley; and Kenny Ellis, General Manager with Cintas – First Aid and Safety.
