Winnebago County to Add AED’s Countywide

The Winnebago County ambulance services in Forest City, Lake Mills, and Buffalo Center are about to add more capabilities to their services thanks to an opioid settlement offered to the county. Winnebago County Auditor Karla Weiss explained how the funding came about.

The county has to find a way to use the money to fight opioid addiction which could be applied county wide.

Joe Klukow with the Forest City Ambulance Service explained that the county will use some of the money for the purchase of Automated External Defibrillators or AED’s.

These AED’s would then be distributed to locations throughout the county which are frequently trafficked by people like businesses, churches, and public gathering locations

The AED’s which have already been placed in businesses have saved several lives according to both Weiss and Klukow. The hope by the county ambulance services and the county itself is to save lives and buy time for victims awaiting paramedic help.