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Cottage Grove honors first responders after on-scene AED use saves a life
Summary
City leaders recognized police officers, a telecommunicator and South Lane Fire & Rescue personnel after coordinated bystander CPR, dispatching and police-applied AED shocks restored a patient’s pulse at East Regional Park. Hearts Safe partners praised bystander training.
Cottage Grove leaders on Monday recognized police officers and South Lane Fire & Rescue personnel for life-saving actions after a medical emergency at East Regional Park.
Mayor Solsby and the police chief presented letters of commendation to the officers and telecommunicator involved. The chief said police were first on scene after a 911 call reporting an unresponsive man; bystanders had started CPR and police rotated through continuous chest compressions while one officer applied an automated external defibrillator (AED). When fire EMS personnel arrived they continued advanced care and the patient regained a sustained pulse before being transported to PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at Riverbend.
Joanna Campy, representing Eugene/Springfield/Lane County Hearts Safe in partnership with PeaceHealth, read written statements from bystanders who had performed CPR and emphasized the role of bystander training. “Bystanders make a difference,” she said, noting that delays in CPR reduce a cardiac-arrest victim’s chance of survival by about 10 percent per minute.
Division Chief Aaron Smith of South Lane Fire and Rescue described the partnership that equipped police vehicles with AEDs and trained officers to deploy them. City leaders said the coordinated response — dispatch, bystander CPR, police care with an AED, and EMS transfer — provided the patient a critical chance of survival.
The council set aside time at the start of its meeting for the recognition; the honored officers and the telecommunicator stood with family and colleagues as the city acknowledged their actions and the value of community CPR training.
The council did not take policy action on the item; presenters emphasized community training and interagency cooperation as next steps to expand survival chances in future cardiac emergencies.
