Student organization raises funds to purchase emergency defibrillators for Grover Center

During fall semester, the members of the Emergency Nursing Club (ENC) decided to raise funds towards the purchase of three new Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) for the College of Health Sciences and Professions (CHSP) to install on all three floors of Grover Center.

The ENC is subgroup of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing Student Organization (BSNO) and is designed specifically for nursing majors. The goal of the club is to provide members with insight into the world of emergency nursing and how nurses function independently and collaboratively within a medical care team. Their fundraising efforts will greatly benefit Ohio University and larger Athens community.

Community outreach was a cornerstone of the fundraising for the AEDs. Grover Center is home to classrooms and offices, as well as WellWorks, the faculty and staff workout facility. The building also serves community members who could benefit from AEDs being more accessible, whether they’re exercising at WellWorks or visiting Grover’s functioning medical offices like the Hearing Clinic.

Georgia Fyffe was the acting president of the ENC during the fall. She said one reason why the group chose fundraise for AEDs was that there had been a few incidents inside of Grover when an AED might have been needed. At the time, the only available AED was inside WellWorks, and the incidents occurred outside the gym’s operating hours.

“We decided we wanted to be able to give back to the CHSP and the Athens community,” Fyffe said. “That’s when we put our heads together about the AEDs. Emergency situations happen more often than we think, and we want our building to be prepared for whatever may happen. Thanks to the help from Professor [Lacey] Douglas, Dr. [John] McCarthy [CHSP's dean], ENC, and BSNO, our dream came to light with fundraising and hard work.”

The ENC students raised money by organizing a cookie dough fundraiser. The fundraiser was fully online and shipped the products directly to each buyer. Fyffe said the fundraiser was a big success.

“We sent [our flyer] out anywhere and everywhere we could. It seemed to be that a lot of the CHSP loved our idea because most of the buyers were from employees, students, and even some locals. Our families shared it out on social media as well!”

Having accessible AEDs on all three floors of the building helps not only the campus community, but the larger Athens community as well. Thanks to the ENC and all their hard work, the community is now safer and more prepared for any future emergency situations.