KICKOFF TO HEARTSAFE COMMUNITY PROVES TO BE A BIG SUCCESS

The Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office is lending its support to a HEARTSAFE Community. The agency participated in the kickoff event to support Freehold Township’s HEARTSAFE Community goal on Sunday, September 9th at the Encore Event Center at iPlay America in Freehold Township. The event, which was an initiative through CentraState Health Awareness Center, Freehold Township and the CentraState Foundation consisted of two sessions of CPR and Automated External Defibrillator training. Each class consisted of approximately 100 participants with 20 instructors. The Sheriff’s Office helped provide instructors and emergency vehicles were present for a tour on site. “Our 9-1-1 Communications Center deals with emergency services 24 hours a day 7 days a week,” said Sheriff Shaun Golden. “We can’t stress enough how important it is that residents become CPR certified in an effort to increase the chance of survival, should CPR need to be administered on an individual, immediately.”

The classes were offered to all residents of Freehold, and, volunteers and staff of local youth programs were particularly encouraged to participate. The initiative came about after a little league baseball player in Freehold Township was struck in the chest by a ball which caused his heart to stop beating. Sean Neely, who made a recovery, collapsed and CPR was immediately administered.

“After that incident, it was vital that we organize a CPR program, at a lower cost than usual, for all coaches and staff to be prepared in the event of an emergency,” said Mayor Anthony Ammiano, Freehold Township.

The class was $20 to participate and instructors donated their time.

“This day proved to be a tremendous success,” said Angela Verdesco-Greco, Training Center Coordinator, Health Awareness Center. “The time and dedication of all those involved will go a long way, should a medical emergency arise with an urgent need for CPR.”