On Aug. 3, St. Rita’s Health Partners donated an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) to the Bluffton Airport.

AEDs are portable devices that check the heart rhythm and are used to treat sudden cardiac arrest.

The devices come equipped with instructions and can be used by bystanders who witness a sudden cardiac arrest.

According to the American Heart Association: “AED’s can be used by non-medical people. They can be made part of emergency response programs that also include rapid use of 9-1-1 and prompt delivery of cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR). All three of these activities are vital to improving survival from cardiac arrest.”