Haven Board Chair Eric Meyer says that by the end of the year, there will be 8 AED stations located throughout the Township.  

Each station is climate controlled - heated in the winter and cooled in the summer - to keep the machines in peak condition and to protect the battery charge.  They are produced by a Minnesota-based company called Advocates For Health, who have installed over 100 of the stations throughout Central Minnesota.

The Haven AED projects are accomplished as a partnership between the local township government and the neighborhoods that dot the rural landscape.

According to Meyer, the township funds ninety percent of the projects, while the neighbors fundraise for the other ten percent.  There also has to be a willing resident who will allow the AED station to be placed near their yard with electricity trenched into the unit.

When the AED machine is removed from the station, 9-1-1 is automatically called and a picture is taken to identify the person responsible for removing the life-saving device.  In addition, a red flashing light is activated and the unit itself is tracked via GPS.

Ironically, Meyer’s wife, Sue, had attended a training set up by the township the same evening as the medical emergency in their neighborhood.  On her way home, she saw the flashing light and called her husband, who was just receiving notification from the company that the unit had been opened.

As part of the program in Haven Township, neighborhoods are required to have people trained in the proper use of the devices.

While Meyer said the costs are significant, the decision to move ahead with the projects were made with exactly the type of situation that Tom Grams experienced last month.

Meyer said that the stations are installed with the hopes that they never have to be used, but in this case, the results were amazing and worked exactly as planned.

He also noted that in recent weeks, Haven Township signed a lease with the Mayo Ambulance Service and now the ambulance rigs stage out of the Town Hall.  This arrangement should lead to significant decreases in ambulance response times in the rural township.

As for future plans, Meyer said it is up to neighborhoods to decide if they want to bring an AED station to their location.  As a former EMT for 20 years, Meyer is convinced of the benefit of having the machines available.

There’s a good bet that Tom and Mina Grams and their neighbors are also convinced.