St. Elizabeth, Community Partners Deploy AEDs to Strengthen Emergency Response Across SEI

48 AEDs are being distributed to local law enforcement

Photo by Travis Thayer, Eagle Country 99.3

(Lawrenceburg, Ind.) - Law enforcement agencies and community partners gathered at St. Elizabeth Dearborn for a big announcement on Wednesday afternoon. 

The expansion of Project Heart Restart to southeastern Indiana was unveiled with the deployment of 48 new AEDs to strengthen emergency response. 

Project Heart Restart began in 2023 and expanded to Northern Kentucky in 2024. This will be the first community partnership in southeastern Indiana.

The initiative is designed to put critical equipment closer to people experiencing sudden cardiac arrest, when intervention can be lifesaving.

It was started by two fellow Rotary Club members, Josh Vogel and Rocky Saconne, stepped in with a deeply personal connection to the cause. Years earlier, as a teenager, Josh had thrown a baseball pitch that struck Rocky’s son, Justin Saconne, in the chest, triggering sudden cardiac arrest. Tragically, Justin passed away on the field. No AED was available, and emergency services took 13 minutes to arrive. Despite the tragic loss, Josh and Rocky stayed in touch and later reunited to support this new effort through an initiative called Project Heart Restart.

"This project is more than donating AEDs. It's giving us someone another chance at life and giving their family members more time with their loved ones, said Vogel. 

Since Project Heart ReStart first began in 2023 it has helped raise over $1M to place more than 600 AEDs in the Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, and now SE Indiana communities.

The St. Elizabeth Foundation, Lawrenceburg and Bright Lions Clubs, Ohio County Community Foundation, REMC Round Up Grant, and an anonymous donor raised the funds for the purchase of the new devices.

"To know that we have this technology outside of our hospital walls and it is in your cruisers, and you will be able to be there within minutes to actually shock and save these people at their place of employment, where they are shopping or where they live. To me, that is amazing because 25 years ago, that only happened here (at the hospital), and now with technology, it's out there," said Angela Roberts, St. Elizabeth Site Administrator and CNO.