WESTFIELD – Westfield Little League baseball coaches took part in a training session in the use of automatic external defibrillators (AED) and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) with Westfield emergency medical technicians yesterday at Westfield Carpet Warehouse on Southampton Road
In a partnership with a local non-profit organization, KEVs Foundation, Westfield Little League received a donation of two AEDs last night, bringing the total amount of defibrillators at Westfield Little League fields to three.
These additional AEDs will now be placed at Sadie Knox and Paper Mill fields and could save the life of an athlete on the field or a member of the crowd.
Beth Lusteg, board member of KEVs Foundation, and Ken Diegel, president of Westfield Little League, were on hand to oversee the session, which had close to 30 coaches and community members in attendance.
“Our goal this year is to get at least one coach on each team certified and with the showing tonight, we’ve exceeded that goal,” said Diegel.
Founded in memory of Kevin J. Major, a young Westfield man who died suddenly in 2011 at the age of 19 from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, an enlarged heart condition which is the leading cause of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) among young people, KEVs Foundation was established to help educate communities about the dangers of SCA. The foundation also sets up regional events and fundraisers, and has donated several AEDs, which are valued at approximately $3,000 each, according to Lusteg.
“We’ve donated 18 in four years,” she said. “It’s been an outpouring of donations that has helped this foundation grow so quickly.”
Lusteg also referenced a recent bill that Sue Canning, Kevin Major’s mother and founder of KEVs Foundation, is working on with state Rep. John Velis, D-Westfield, that would require all public school athletic coaches in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to be trained and certified every two years in CPR.
Aaron Wagner, owner of Westfield Carpet Warehouse, helped organize and set up last night’s training session in a similar fashion to how he helped Westfield Youth Football coaches receive their AED/CPR certifications.
“When I started with the football teams, someone told me to go on YouTube and check out (SCA) and you’d be surprised at how many times, on the field and off the field, that there happens to be an incident, whether it is a fan – a grandfather, grandmother or a child,” he said. “The opportunity to give safety to more kids on a baseball field is a great step for Westfield Little League.
“I think it will make parents feel a lot more safe out there, knowing that the coaches are certified,” he said.
