Hillsdale County prepares staff, buildings for emergencies

Corey Murray, Hillsdale Daily News
·2 min read

HILLSDALE COUNTY — The Hillsdale County Board of Commissioners Public Safety Committee has taken a proactive approach to the possibility of a “worst case scenario” unfolding in a county-owned building with public access.

All county employees are now trained in administering naloxone, a life-saving medication also known by the brand name Narcan that is used to undo opioid overdoses, doing CPR and using an automated external defibrillator (AED).

Employees have also been trained in “Stop the Bleed” hemorrhage control practices, Commissioner Brad Benzing, the public safety chair, said.

All county-owned buildings are now fully equipped with new Zoll 3 AED devices and hemorrhage control kits. Locations include the historic courthouse, Courthouse Annex Building, County Office Building, the Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Office and Jail, the MSU Extension, the County Youth Home and Friend of the Court.

The equipment is in clearly marked, windowed cabinets in public access areas, Benzing said.

Emergency Management Director Thomas Whitaker, who is a working paramedic and Michigan EMS instructor coordinator, is responsible for overseeing ongoing training of county employees.

A Zoll 3 automated external defibrillator (AED) like those recently placed in Hillsdale County buildings is pictured.
A Zoll 3 automated external defibrillator (AED) like those recently placed in Hillsdale County buildings is pictured.

Along with the AEDs, a training unit was purchased so that employees can learn on the same type of units placed throughout the buildings. The units and training were paid for from the first round of opiate settlement funds which the county will receive over the next 17 years.

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Benzing, an advanced emergency medical technician (AEMT) and Michigan EMS instructor coordinator, brought the idea of purchasing the equipment to the board of commissioners after noticing a shortage of AEDs in county buildings.

“In light of mass casualty events across the country, bleeding control stations are becoming more common in public spaces,” Benzing said.

Both Whitaker and Benzing attended a recent two-day campus active shooter integrated response training for area first responders at Hillsdale College led by instructors from Louisiana State University’s National Center for Biomedical Research and Training.

— Contact Reporter Corey Murray at cmurray@hillsdale.net or follow him on Twitter: @cmurrayHDN.

This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Hillsdale County prepares staff, buildings for emergencies