Moose Lodge #1469 donates two AEDs, life-saving devices, to Taylor Mill Police

By Patricia A. Scheyer
NKyTribune reporter

Whenever a 911 call comes in to any dispatch center in Northern Kentucky, the first responders are almost always police officers in their patrol cars.

It’s no wonder that police cars should be equipped with automated external defibrillators (AEDs), which are life-saving devices that can be used to restart a heart or to instruct people on how to use them to save someone’s life.

Taylor Mill Police Chief James Mills has been with the city of Taylor Mill since 2009 and rose through the ranks to become chief. When he started in 2009, the force had two AEDs. A few years later, the fire department gave them an additional AED, which they had when they retired the truck they were using.

Two additional AEDs were purchased from the city budget, bringing the total to five.

Chief Mills set a goal of equipping all 11 patrol cars with AEDs, so he contacted the Moose Lodge, which is two doors down from the municipal building, to see if they received any local government grants.

“They said they didn’t have any grants, but they’ve always been very interested and committed to helping the community,” Mills explained. “They do charity events so they can donate money to their mission in the community, so they did an event, the Bourbon Raffle, which ended right before I left for the FBI Academy. Through that event, they raised enough money to buy two AEDs, which they donated to the city.”

Mills said these units have become something that is very much needed in the community, with most area schools having one or more units or looking to acquire one or more units in case a student has a life-threatening emergency. He said they are not terribly expensive, but they are definitely not cheap, costing more than $2,000 each.

“They’re designed so that most people can use them,” he explained. “My 12-year-old could do it. It’s very user-friendly. Right after you set it up, it walks you through what to do. If the person needs CPR, it tells you. If the heart needs a shock, it tells the person to stop CPR and give the person a shock. It gives you step-by-step instructions on what to do until you can get to a higher level of care. It can mean the difference between life and death in just a few minutes before the ambulance gets there.”

Moose Lodge Administrator Ron Wilson said the lodge owners were more than happy to help when Chief Mills contacted them.

“One of our goals is to help our community,” Wilson said. “It was a match made in heaven, the lodge helping the police help the people in the community. We do fundraisers throughout the year. We recently did a clothing drive for the Northern Kentucky Emergency Shelter when they needed clothing for men. We give our Tommy Moose, a stuffed animal that can comfort children in traumatic situations, to emergency personnel in cities and hospitals.”

Wilson said they will be hosting a Trunk or Treat at Pride Park, and they have a Giving Tree every year and adopt a Day Care for Christmas. He said many people think they are just a private bar, but he argued that they are much more than that, although he agreed that they have fun at the lodge. He pointed out that there are over 1,300 Moose Lodges in the world and they have a year-round school called Mooseheart in Illinois where they care for and educate about 200 children who have nowhere else to go. They also have a retirement village in Jacksonville, Florida.

Wilson said they raised $2,500 from the Bourbon Raffle, and the center added about $1,750 to the fund to be able to donate two AED defibrillators to the police department, worth a total of $4,250.

According to Wilson, these particular units are the exact same units used by the Taylor Mill Fire Department, meaning that when emergency crews arrive on scene, they can simply plug their devices into them.

“We care about our community,” Wilson said.

Chief Mills said his goal is to have four more AED units by this time next year. He is actively pursuing grants that could provide the money needed to purchase the units. He said the grant application window has closed, but as soon as it reopens, he will apply so he can take the necessary steps to get the money for the units.

Currently, officers in his department have several different shifts to ensure adequate coverage during a 24-hour period each day. With AEDs in seven of 11 patrols, they try to make sure every patrol car has an AED, but occasionally that doesn’t happen.

“Having an AED in every vehicle is critical to providing immediate care to all of our residents,” Chief Mills said. “We have about 7 square miles of roadway in the city and we can respond in minutes. Being there in an emergency with an AED is definitely a lifesaver.”