Jun 8, 2019 2 min read

The Washington pool is safer than it was last year, thanks to community partnerships and donations.

Washington Health System donated money to the city for a new automated external defibrillator (AED) to be stored at the pool.

“I do not believe there was ever an AED at the pool,” city police Chief Robert Wilson said.

He said the city’s safety committee had talked about the need for an AED at the pool, in case of medical emergencies.

“We’re always looking to make all of our buildings and the pool and the park safer,” city fire Chief Gerald Coleman said. “This was something we hadn’t budgeted for.”

Wilson said he reached out to Washington Hospital to see if they had an old AED, perhaps one being taken out of service, that the city could use at the pool. Instead, the hospital wrote the city a $1,700 check to get a new AED.

“It’s nice to know you can reach out to the community, and leaders in our community, and they’re willing to make donations like that,” Wilson said. “It was definitely a group effort to get this done.”

Gary Weinstein, president and CEO of WHS, said that since his organization is dedicated to good health, they try to support the city’s police, fire and other services “any way we can.”

“We try to be a good citizen in a number of ways,” he said. “This was one that we thought was up our alley and we were able to do.”

The AED will be stored at the pool house in a place easy to access by lifeguards, Wilson said. He and Coleman said it will make the pool “better and safer” for residents.

“We hope it’s never needed,” Coleman said. “But it will hopefully ensure a good outcome and give someone the best chance of survival, if – God forbid – it is ever needed.”

The safety committee also recently installed a fire alarm system at the pool. Coleman said if an emergency occurs, someone can pull the alarm to dispatch police, fire and ambulance personnel, making the response “a lot quicker in the event that someone needs our help.”