HFL Now Accepting Applications for 2024 AED Grants

Each year, Health Foundation of La Porte (HFL) provides grants for lifesaving automated external defibrillators (AEDs) through its When Seconds Count: AED Initiative. HFL is accepting applications for AED grants from organizations in La Porte County from February 14-28, 2024.  

To be eligible, applicants must be a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, school, or governmental entity. Applicants can learn more and access the grant portal to apply at https://www.hflaporte.org/when-seconds-count-aed.  

Importance of AEDs and Getting on the Map 

AEDs are critical to increasing survival from sudden cardiac arrest. According to the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation, sudden cardiac arrest affects 1,000 people per day in the United States. Only one in ten people who experience sudden cardiac arrest outside of a hospital survive. Survival rates increase to 3 in 10 when people nearby perform CPR and to 5 in 10 when bystanders perform CPR and use an AED. Sudden cardiac arrest survival depends on the fast actions of bystanders calling 911, starting CPR, and using an AED as soon as possible.   

Each year, HFL opens the AED grant application process on February 14 to coincide with American Heart Month and Valentine’s Day. Maria Fruth, HFL’s President & CEO explained, “Our When Seconds Count: AED Initiative is near and dear to HFL’s heart. Ensuring our community has access to these life-saving devices, and that residents are trained and prepared to administer CPR in the case of a sudden cardiac emergency, is essential to improving survival rates. Our annual AED grants are one piece of the exciting HEARTSafe Community designation for which we recently submitted an application!”   

In addition to providing AED grants, HFL works in partnership with La Porte County EMS through the AED Collective to provide guidance on AED education and maintenance and to monitor the locations of AEDs in our community. If your organization has an AED, please make sure it is on the map! For more information about the La Porte County AED Collective, and to register your AED, please visit https://laporteco.in.gov/departments-online/emergency-medical-services/aed/.  

HFL also provides funding to the City of La Porte Fire Department (LPFD) to help them offer free CPR classes to the community. Since 2017, LPFD has trained more than 1,500 people in CPR and AED usage. To register for one of the monthly free CPR classes, contact LPFD at lpfdcpr@gmail.com, call 219-362-3456, or visit https://www.cityoflaporte.com/departments/fire/cpr-classes.   

Through its When Seconds Count: AED Initiative, HFL has awarded 208 AEDs, along with cabinets and signage, totaling over $484,000 in La Porte County since 2017. HFL’s investment in its When Seconds Count: AED Initiative to date is part of the more than $41 million the foundation has invested in the La Porte County community since initiating operations in November 2017. To learn more about HFL, its grants, and community impact, please visit HFL’s website at hflaporte.org.