Link to orig Herald newspaper coverage



MECOSTA, OSCEOLA, LAKE COUNTIES — The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office would like to give a huge shoutout to Michigan Rural EMS Network and Mecosta County EMS who Worked together to place AEDs in Mecosta, Lake and Osceola Counties.

Michigan Rural EMS Network (MiREMS) recently donated twelve automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) to agencies in Mecosta, Lake and Osceola Counties.

Mecosta County EMS collaborated with MiREMS to facilitate placement of AEDs in the following locations; six to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Department, three to Evart Schools, one in a rural physician office in Tustin, one at Evergreen Physical Therapy in Big Rapids and one at Edgetts Wesleyan Church in Luther.

"Jenny Edstrom, who works for Mecosta County EMS and is the wife of an Osceola County deputy took the lead on this project for us and delivered. As an organization we are now much stronger to provide better medical services to our citizens while out on patrol," an Osceola County Sheriff's department spokesperson said.

The donation was made in response to a request from Osceola County Sheriff Department and Mecosta County EMS, who recognized the need for additional AEDs in the community but found it difficult to secure the needed funding for the equipment.

The donated AEDs were the last remaining of more than 200 that were purchased by Michigan Rural EMS Network with grant funds from the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, Health Resources Services Administration, and placed in several rural counties across Michigan.

Since 2016 many first responders in the area have been trained in High-Performance CPR, which has been proven to dramatically improve patient survival in the event of cardiac arrest.

Community members have also received training in CPR and the use of AEDS.

The High-Performance CPR training and AED placements were a part of the Network’s MiResCu (Michigan Resuscitation Consortium) program. The initiative is part of a system of strategies that have been proven to increase cardiac arrest survival, and is based on the system pioneered in Seattle/King County, Washington, which is among the highest reported survival rates in the world for witnessed ventricular-fibrillation.

Michigan Rural EMS Network in a nonprofit organization which provides support for rural first responders and agencies for which they work.

MiREMS largely relies on grants and donations to provide programs to benefit first responders and the rural Michigan communities they serve.

For more information, please contact MiREMS at (989) 272-3200 or info@mirems.org.

HRSA Rural AED Grant: Federal funding provided 100% of program costs, or $150,000 per year.

It's About Life!