Illinois emergency agencies receive grants for defibrilators

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Four Southern Illinois emergency medical service providers were among 121 rural government agencies who received grants to buy portable automated external defibrillators.

Included in the grants were Anna Fire and Rescue, Cairo Fire Department, Alexander County and Pulaski County Ambulance Service. Each will be able to buy two difibrilators.

Defibrillators can revive victims of sudden cardiac arrest with electrical jolts administered at precise intervals, and can stop irregular heart contractions and restore the heart's natural beating pattern.

The American Heart Association estimates that availability and use of AEDs could save as many as 50,000 Americans each year.

The Illinois Department of Public Health awarded grants totaling $216,000. Funding came from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration.