[2delunatics]

Greetings.
We are new to TV and renting in Chitty Chatty while our house is being built in DeLuna. While driving through Chitty Chatty, I noticed that the AED boxes I've seen in this village are empty.......why is that?

Some of The Villages YouTubers that I watch say that they are part of a neighborhood First Responder AED program in place in their particular village.

I'm curious if a program like that exists in every village, and if so, how does that work if the AED boxes are empty like I've seen in Chitty Chatty?

Thank you in advance as we learn more and more about TV everyday.

[Altavia]

Cardiac Saves | Special Report | The Villages Dail | thevillagesdailysun.com

[metoo21]

It may or may not exist in every village. It depends on the village and whether someone in that village spearheads the project and tries to get the village to participate. In order to participate, it has to be coordinated with the fire dept. Residents of the village must volunteer to be trained (previous training will help but local training is required) to become an AED responder. If enough people volunteer, to become responders, AED overseers, etc. then money has to be raised by the village to purchase the AED's - about $3K each from what I've been told to purchase one, buy the pole & box, get pole & box installed, etc. Then there will be an agreed upon annual price that each home in the village must contribute to maintain the AED's, etc. Batteries must be replaced every couple years along with other expenses such as inspecting the AED's on a regular basis and replacing any components of the kits as necessary. Components would include gloves, patches, leads, etc. All of this is not provided by The Villages nor the FD. Someone (actually multiple people in the specific village) has to be committed to oversee and manage the AED's annually. Very intensive and more involved than one may think.

We are currently undergoing this process in Citrus Grove. St Catherine is ahead of us in the process I believe. The # of AED's required for a village depends on the size of the village and what the FD determines to be an appropriate amount to guarantee a specific response time. Oh, the AED's can not be located on property of The Villages and must be in the yard (not attached to a home) of residents. So those residents will have to agree on having one on their property.

Those boxes have to be installed before AED's can be put in them. And the AED's have to be purchased too.

[Kenswing]

Metoo21 pretty much nailed it.

I believe the reason that the Chitty Chatty boxes are empty is because they are still waiting for the AED’s. Our village has 19 AED’s on order. The whole supply chain debacle has put a huge delay on getting the devices.

To start an AED program in your village you will need someone to volunteer to head it up. You will then get with the AED program coordinator at The Villages Fire Department. They will evaluate the recommended number of units based on how many homes you want to cover. In our case we are covering over 1,100 homes requiring 19 units. That places an AED within 850 feet of every home.

That was a huge undertaking. Our leadership in St. Catherine broke our village up into zones. Each zone has volunteers for Zone Captains, Fundraising, maintenance and of course first responders.

We tried to collect $100 from each household. With the amount of participation we achieved we are well funded for at least four years. The AED’s themselves are about $1,400. The major ongoing cost is for the Ready Alert dispatch service. Our village has over 100 trained first responders so that cost is considerable. The Fire Department provides the training for free.

It’s a great program but also takes a very dedicated group of folks to put it all together. Thankfully we have that in spades.

[2delunatics]

Originally Posted by metoo21

It may or may not exist in every village. It depends on the village and whether someone in that village spearheads the project and tries to get the village to participate. In order to participate, it has to be coordinated with the fire dept. Residents of the village must volunteer to be trained (previous training will help but local training is required) to become an AED responder. If enough people volunteer, to become responders, AED overseers, etc. then money has to be raised by the village to purchase the AED's - about $3K each from what I've been told to purchase one, buy the pole & box, get pole & box installed, etc. Then there will be an agreed upon annual price that each home in the village must contribute to maintain the AED's, etc. Batteries must be replaced every couple years along with other expenses such as inspecting the AED's on a regular basis and replacing any components of the kits as necessary. Components would include gloves, patches, leads, etc. All of this is not provided by The Villages nor the FD. Someone (actually multiple people in the specific village) has to be committed to oversee and manage the AED's annually. Very intensive and more involved than one may think.

We are currently undergoing this process in Citrus Grove. St Catherine is ahead of us in the process I believe. The # of AED's required for a village depends on the size of the village and what the FD determines to be an appropriate amount to guarantee a specific response time. Oh, the AED's can not be located on property of The Villages and must be in the yard (not attached to a home) of residents. So those residents will have to agree on having one on their property.

Those boxes have to be installed before AED's can be put in them. And the AED's have to be purchased too.

Thanks much for the reply. Great info!

[2delunatics]

Originally Posted by Kenswing

Metoo21 pretty much nailed it.

I believe the reason that the Chitty Chatty boxes are empty is because they are still waiting for the AED’s. Our village has 19 AED’s on order. The whole supply chain debacle has put a huge delay on getting the devices.

To start an AED program in your village you will need someone to volunteer to head it up. You will then get with the AED program coordinator at The Villages Fire Department. They will evaluate the recommended number of units based on how many homes you want to cover. In our case we are covering over 1,100 homes requiring 19 units. That places an AED within 850 feet of every home.

That was a huge undertaking. Our leadership in St. Catherine broke our village up into zones. Each zone has volunteers for Zone Captains, Fundraising, maintenance and of course first responders.

We tried to collect $100 from each household. With the amount of participation we achieved we are well funded for at least four years. The AED’s themselves are about $1,400. The major ongoing cost is for the Ready Alert dispatch service. Our village has over 100 trained first responders so that cost is considerable. The Fire Department provides the training for free.

It’s a great program but also takes a very dedicated group of folks to put it all together. Thankfully we have that in spades.

Very interesting. Thanks for the info!

[JamesLove]

Two common misconceptions:

(1) PulsePoint is operated by Sumter County and is a free alternative to Ready Alert. PulsePoint is used by the 750+ families in the village of McClure and a few other villages.

(2) if necessary, AED can be placed on common ground, after obtaining permission.

[NoMo50]

There is some misinformation in the previous posts, but mostly right. I live in Chitty Chatty, and our neighborhood AED program has excellent participation amongst our 472 homes. We have 8 AED boxes set up, which myself and another individual set in place. Our actual AED units were ordered months ago, but are still stuck in the supply chain somewhere...hence the empty boxes.

The AED units themselves are closer to $1400, not $3000 as one poster mentioned. The batteries should last about 4 years before needing replacement, but we'll see how that holds up in the Florida heat. An important note: the AED boxes CAN be placed on property owned by The Villages. In fact, The Villages recommends they be erected on District property wherever possible. If placed on District property, they will set the posts for you...we installed the PVC sleeves, light caps, and boxes on those.

Also, the Villages Fire Department is transitioning away from Ready Alert as their responder notification system. Ready Alert charges an annual fee per responder, and is very expensive. The Fire Department has decided to use Pulse Point as its responder notification system, and Pulse Point is free. That is what we will be using in Chitty Chatty.

We have collected sufficient funding for our neighborhood program to operate for many years. Our volunteer responders have all been trained by the Villages Fire Department. Our boxes are up and ready to go. We just need the supply chain to loosen up so the AED units can be placed inside. But, even though we are ready to go, I will be very happy if we never have to use one.

[retiredguy123]

How many people reading this thread didn't know that an AED is an "automated external defibrillator"?

[MJLMcClure]

AED boxes may be attached to a home if the homeowner agrees. In McClure most of our boxes are on homes. We have also agreed that a homeowner (or purchaser) may rescind that agreement and we will remove the box. As an aside, boxes on posts are usually exposed to sunlight and heat much more and may be aesthetically unpleasing.

Originally Posted by JamesLove

Two common misconceptions:

(1) PulsePoint is operated by Sumter County and is a free alternative to Ready Alert. PulsePoint is used by the 750+ families in the village of McClure and a few other villages.

(2) if necessary, AED can be placed on common ground, after obtaining permission.

[jayteadunn]

Thank you for all of this info. I'm not sure if the same model of AED is used throughout each Village. I own a paramedic equipment business and most AED's if not all can be 6 plus months of a lead time. Some AED batteries and pads are extended out similarly. I've heard its the chip issue. Its not surprising that its taking a while to come in.

[DonnaNi4os]

Originally Posted by 2delunatics

Greetings.
We are new to TV and renting in Chitty Chatty while our house is being built in DeLuna. While driving through Chitty Chatty, I noticed that the AED boxes I've seen in this village are empty.......why is that?

Some of The Villages YouTubers that I watch say that they are part of a neighborhood First Responder AED program in place in their particular village.

I'm curious if a program like that exists in every village, and if so, how does that work if the AED boxes are empty like I've seen in Chitty Chatty?

Thank you in advance as we learn more and more about TV everyday.

There was a discussion regarding having them in our neighborhood. You must have people who are willing to be trained to use them properly. If there is no one willing to be trained then you will not find one in your neighborhood.

[metoo21]

Originally Posted by NoMo50

There is some misinformation in the previous posts, but mostly right. I live in Chitty Chatty, and our neighborhood AED program has excellent participation amongst our 472 homes. We have 8 AED boxes set up, which myself and another individual set in place. Our actual AED units were ordered months ago, but are still stuck in the supply chain somewhere...hence the empty boxes.

The AED units themselves are closer to $1400, not $3000 as one poster mentioned. The batteries should last about 4 years before needing replacement, but we'll see how that holds up in the Florida heat. An important note: the AED boxes CAN be placed on property owned by The Villages. In fact, The Villages recommends they be erected on District property wherever possible. If placed on District property, they will set the posts for you...we installed the PVC sleeves, light caps, and boxes on those.

Also, the Villages Fire Department is transitioning away from Ready Alert as their responder notification system. Ready Alert charges an annual fee per responder, and is very expensive. The Fire Department has decided to use Pulse Point as its responder notification system, and Pulse Point is free. That is what we will be using in Chitty Chatty.

We have collected sufficient funding for our neighborhood program to operate for many years. Our volunteer responders have all been trained by the Villages Fire Department. Our boxes are up and ready to go. We just need the supply chain to loosen up so the AED units can be placed inside. But, even though we are ready to go, I will be very happy if we never have to use one.

So who paid to purchase the post, PVC sleeve, light cap and box? That should be included in the cost of each AED if paid for by the village. And you state, y'all have enough money to fund the AED program for many years. What does that equate to per AED?

I didn't say the AED itself was $3000 each, what I said was "about $3K each from what I've been told to purchase one, buy the pole & box, get pole & box installed, etc." The etc was for the incidentals. I continued with "Batteries must be replaced every couple years along with other expenses such as inspecting the AED's on a regular basis and replacing any components of the kits as necessary. Components would include gloves, patches, leads, etc."

I would think that if $3000 per AED was raised then one would have a sufficient amount to fund the program for a few years. If only initial money is collected to buy the AED (and the post, PVC sleeve, light cap and box are free), that isn't enough money to have in the AED coffer.

In my opinion, no one wants to be asked every few months for more money to buy the ongoing supplies. If the program is funded for a few years, then when that funding gets down to a certain level ($1000 per AED for example) then the villagers could be asked to contribute something again to fund the program for several more years. One must also realize that supplies have to be kept on hand to immediately replace any that were used.

[NoMo50]

Originally Posted by metoo21

So who paid to purchase the post, PVC sleeve, light cap and box? That should be included in the cost of each AED if paid for by the village. And you state, y'all have enough money to fund the AED program for many years. What does that equate to per AED?

I didn't say the AED itself was $3000 each, what I said was "about $3K each from what I've been told to purchase one, buy the pole & box, get pole & box installed, etc." The etc was for the incidentals. I continued with "Batteries must be replaced every couple years along with other expenses such as inspecting the AED's on a regular basis and replacing any components of the kits as necessary. Components would include gloves, patches, leads, etc."

I would think that if $3000 per AED was raised then one would have a sufficient amount to fund the program for a few years. If only initial money is collected to buy the AED (and the post, PVC sleeve, light cap and box are free), that isn't enough money to have in the AED coffer.

In my opinion, no one wants to be asked every few months for more money to buy the ongoing supplies. If the program is funded for a few years, then when that funding gets down to a certain level ($1000 per AED for example) then the villagers could be asked to contribute something again to fund the program for several more years. One must also realize that supplies have to be kept on hand to immediately replace any that were used.

I will try to answer your questions/concerns, but keep in mind that every neighborhood is unique. I can only answer for what we did in Chitty Chatty.

Our neighborhood elected a board to oversee the process of starting, implementing, and maintaining the AED program. Several public meetings were held, and regular updates were put out to our residents. The decision was made early on that we did not want to be "coming back to the well" every couple of years soliciting donations. Because of that, we asked residents to contribute $150 per household. The response was excellent.

To use your "per AED" analysis, we collected over $4,000 per AED. Our all-in costs have come to less than $2,000 per AED, and that is all inclusive: AED unit, 4x4 posts, PVC sleeves, AED box, lighted cap, and necessary hardware. Our labor costs were zero. Six of our 8 posts were installed on District property, by District Property Management at no cost. The other two, along with all the PVC sleeves, boxes, locks, and lights were installed by our members...again at no cost. We currently have 48 residents who have been trained as responders, with training provided by the Villages Public Safety at no cost. We will be using the Pulse Point dispatch notification system, also at no cost.

While I cannot speak for what has been done in other neighborhoods, here in Chitty Chatty we feel highly confident that we are positioned to operate and maintain our program for many years without additional fundraising. Your mileage may vary.

[MrFlorida]

Supply chain issues, shortages ?