Wear Red for Women, a Bothwell Foundation committee, recently presented four automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to Sedalia Parks and Recreation for the Heckart Community Center. An AED is a small, lightweight device that allows individuals and first responders to treat sudden cardiac arrest. The machine automatically analyzes heart rhythm and when appropriate, delivers an electrical shock to the heart to restore normal rhythm.

According to research, the majority of sudden heart attack victims have good chances of survival under certain common conditions, including the event is witnessed, the collapse occurs in a large public place, an AED is handy and bystanders use CPR and the AED.

Funds to purchase the devices were raised during the 2022 Wear Red for Women luncheon and auction. The goal of the committee is to place an AED in every place people work, learn, play or pray in Sedalia and Pettis County. The 2023 Wear Red for Women Event will be held on Friday, February 24, 2023.