Harvey Hall donates five AEDs to Tehachapi

 In an ongoing effort to improve access to automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in public places, Hall Ambulance Founder and President Harvey L. Hall is continuing his crusade by donating five AEDs to the City of Tehachapi.  The presentation took place during the June 19 City Council meeting.

The City of Tehachapi was originally looking to budget for the AEDs when Ashley Whitmore, the Administrative Manager/Deputy City Clerk contacted Hall Ambulance seeking recommendations for which AED model to purchase.  Upon learning of the inquiry and the intended locations, Mr. Hall insisted on donating the devices.  

These lifesaving devices will be placed at the following locations: City Hall, Hall Annex, the Tehachapi Police Department, the Public Works Yard, and the Waste Water Treatment Plant.

 "It's a positive feeling for me to be able to increase the number of AEDs available throughout Tehachapi that can be used in the event of sudden cardiac arrest," said Hall.  Previously, he has placed AEDs into the Senior Center and the Dye Natatorium. 

In 2016, Hall presented AEDs to each of the council chambers within the Company's 9-1-1 response area, including Tehachapi, California City, Bakersfield, Arvin, Shafter, Wasco, Maricopa, and Taft; as well as inside the County of Kern's Board of Supervisors chambers.  Earlier this year, Hall donated an AED to the Delano First Assembly after a visitor to the church experienced a medical scare. In February 2016 Hall and his wife Lavonne presented eight AEDs to the athletic programs at CSU Bakersfield.

 An AED is a portable electronic device that automatically diagnoses the life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias in a patient and can shock the heart back into a healthy rhythm.  With simple audio and visual commands, AEDs are designed to be simple to use for the layperson.  An AED can make a dramatic difference when used in the first few minutes of someone suffering from sudden cardiac arrest, prior to the arrival of ambulance paramedics and public safety personnel. "As the 9-1-1 paramedic provider serving 88% of Kern County's population, we have witnessed firsthand the difference early CPR and defibrillation by an AED can make," said Hall.

Founded in 1971, Hall Ambulance Service, Inc. is the 9-1-1 paramedic provider for 88% of Kern County's population.  The Company has provided emergency medical transportation service to Tehachapi since October 1, 1979, and today provides around the clock paramedic services from its two stations in Tehachapi, and an additional station located in Golden Hills.