The Commissioners of St. Mary's County on Oct. 28 proclaimed October 2025 as National Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month and highlighted a new county initiative to place publicly accessible automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in parks and other outdoor county facilities.

Deputy Director Kiersten Shea said the placement program, led by the Department of Emergency Services with partners including Aging and Human Services, Recreation and Parks, and Public Works, will install AEDs in outdoor storage boxes and upload their locations into the county's CAD so dispatchers can instruct callers to retrieve a nearby device during an emergency. “With these resources at the county parks, they'll be able to immediately, upon receiving the call, instruct bystanders to grab the AED to assist in early intervention with CPR,” Shea said.

Laurie Jennings Harris, director of Aging and Human Services, noted AEDs are already in senior activity centers and that adding outdoor access at popular locations such as pickleball courts will provide immediate lifesaving options. Ray Bivens, director of Recreation and Parks, said AEDs previously were locked in maintenance buildings, limiting public access.

Health department staff and volunteer organizations present encouraged residents to take CPR classes offered in English and Spanish and to register for training at smchd.org/cpr. Commissioners signed the proclamation in support of the awareness month and the installation plan.