Summit County real estate developers recently donated funds to provide Automated External Defibrillators, or AEDs, to six local childcare centers in the county.

BGV Gives and Pinnacle Gives — the philanthropic arms of Breckenridge Grand Vacations and The Pinnacle Company, respectively — donated the funds for these life-saving devices, according to a news release.

“With the AEDs they provided, our childcare centers are now safer than ever,” Wildflower Nature Center director Tiernan Gannon said in the release. “Their generosity means our little ones and staff have an extra layer of protection, ensuring peace of mind for everyone. “

BGV Gives provided funds for AEDs at five childcare centers, including Carriage House, Timberline Learning Center and Little Red Schoolhouse in Breckenridge as well as Lake Dillon Preschool in Dillon and Wildflower Nature Center in Silverthorne, the release states. Pinnacle Gives reportedly provided funds for an AED at Summit Preschool in Frisco.

AEDs are sophisticated, yet easy-to-use medical devices that can analyze a person’s heart rhythm and, if necessary, deliver an electrical shock to the heart to reestablish an effective rhythm, according to the American Red Cross. 

The AEDs for the local childcare centers were provided by the Summit County branch of Starting Hearts, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to saving the lives of sudden cardiac arrest victims, the release states.

Several childcare center directors requested the possibility of having AEDs installed on site at a quarterly meeting last December, according to the release. Summit County Public Health supported the request, and the Early Childhood Options wrote a collaborative grant request for all childcare sites in the county to receive AEDs, the release states.

Each of the childcare centers received a Zoll 3 AED, which is designed with children in mind, according to the news release. These defibrillators reportedly feature a child button that reduces the amount of electrical charge to the child, eliminating the need for special electrode pads and guesswork about what type of electrode pad to use, the release states. Ultimately, this is intended to reduce the response time to the child.

Having an AED at a childcare center is a crucial safety measure, according to Starting Hearts. In the event of a cardiac emergency, every second counts, and having an AED onsite can significantly increase the chances of survival.

“Having an AED readily available can have a crucial role in emergency situations by reducing the time to defibrillation, ultimately increasing the chances of a positive outcome,” Timberline Learning Center Director Sarah Young said in the news release.

Early Childhood Options hopes to be able to secure funding to place AEDs in the other child care centers in Summit County by the end of summer, according to the news release. These sites include Breckenridge Montessori, Rocky Mountain Montessori in Dillon, Open Arms in Breckenridge, Mountain Sprouts Academy at Copper Mountain and Village Childcare at Breckenridge Ski Resort.

Any person or business who wishes to provide an AED for any or all of the childcare centers should contact Alison Earnest, executive director at Early Childhood Options, at aearnest@earlychildhoodoptions.org.