Loudon County deputies now have a new item aimed at reducing the number of sudden cardiac arrest death’s by proving access to early defibrillation across the county.

Priority EMS Director Travis Estes presented Loudon County Sheriff Tim Guider and Chief Deputy Jimmy Davis with three automatic external defibrillators (AED’s) yesterday, one for each of the county’s three designated patrol zones.

“These AED’s are an amazing benefit to the citizens of Loudon County and have the potential to provide our deputies with yet another tool that will help them to do what they’re trained to save lives,” said Sheriff Tim Guider.

“The three Heartstart AED’s came at no cost to the Sheriff’s Office and were supplied in partnership with Priority EMS. Each AED will be with one of the deputies assigned to each patrol zone so that they’re readily available in the event of a sudden cardiac arrest event,” said Chief Deputy Jimmy Davis. “We cannot be more thankful for the donations that EMS Director Estes and Priority EMS made to help strengthen the number of AEDs we have available in our community. It’s an example of the strong relationships we have within the emergency responder agencies who are all committed to working together to make this a safe place to live with access to the highest level of professional response from our first responders,” said Davis.