Donor gives defibrillators for cruisers

An anonymous $5,000 donation completed a project by the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office to place one automatic external defibrillator in each of the 10 patrol vehicles in the county last week.

The donation was made in honor of Elmo Bowling, of Amherst, who died of a heart attack in 2007.

An AED is a portable electronic device that can treat cardiac arrests and heart attacks with defibrillation, or the application of electrical currents to the heart, which can allow it to return to or re-establish a correct rhythm.

“They felt like at the time, if there was an AED present, it may have saved his life,” said Nelson County Sheriff David Brooks.

Three of the AEDs that will be placed in country patrol vehicles have plaques that honor Bowling.

“We hope it will benefit and save a lot of lives,” said Elizabeth Bowling, of Arrington, Elmo Bowling’s mother. “He would be greatly honored. Elmo loved helping people.”

Sheila Wood, a dispatcher for the Nelson County Sheriff Office and certified AED trainer, said the devices have saved lives in the county before.

A former deputy used an AED on a patient who was having a cardiac arrest at Lovingston Health Care Center in Arrington three years ago, Wood said. The patient was then flown to UVa Medical Center in Charlottesville and discharged 10 days later.

Brooks said the donation significantly helped them place an AED unit in each patrol vehicle.

“I think the contribution stands for itself of what Elmo and the Bowling family represent to us,” he said. “Nobody just gives you a $5,000 check. It’s a representation of who they are and who Elmo was.”

The Nelson County Sheriff’s Office will continue fundraising to keep the units operational, Brooks said.

“The AEDs run about $1,600 a piece, plus the batteries run around $300 to $350 and the (electrical pads) run about $45 each,” he said. “It’s a continuous program.”