Browns CB Denzel Ward's foundation launches initiative to provide AEDs, training to NEO school sports programs

Cleveland Browns cornerback Denzel Ward and his Make Them Know Your Name Foundation have been working to educate and promote heart health for years, distributing AEDs and providing CPR training across Northeast Ohio after tragedy struck their family in 2018. On Friday, that work reached another milestone with the launch of the AEDin3 Safety Initiative.

According to University Hospitals and published medical research data, around 90% of the 350,000 people who experience cardiac arrest outside of a hospital each year die, and for every minute that a person in cardiac arrest goes without shock from an Automated External Defibrillator (AED), their chance of survival decreases by 10%.

Those numbers prompted state legislators to introduce House Bill 47, which mandates a specific athletic emergency plan for every high school sport and venue, AEDs on-site and within three minutes from a sports venue, and CPR and AED training for every coach in every sport. That bill has been passed by the House and is now in the Senate Committee.

In order to help high schools comply with those mandates should the bill pass Senate and be signed by Gov. Mike DeWine—and to have the resources available regardless—Ward's foundation has partnered with University Hospitals and Kaulig Companies to get AEDs into schools and provide training in preparation for any possible sudden cardiac arrest emergency.

The partnership has resulted in the AEDin3 initiative that will have 60 area schools that are involved in the University Hospitals system participate in—but schools across Ohio and even out of state are invited to participate in the initiative.

While providing the AEDs is a crucial part of the initiative, training is a core part of it as well. The AEDin3 initiative comes with a video component that has schools and athletic programs conduct drills to get AEDs to fields and sports venues in under three minutes—the time frame that has shown to be the most effective to use an AED to re-establish heart rhythm and save a life.

A school that fails the three-minute AED drill becomes eligible to receive AEDs and training at no cost through the partnership with MTKYN, UH and Kaulig Companies.

"If it is less than three minutes, then we know that whole venue is covered. If it's more than three minutes, then either the AED that they have needs to be moved to a better location or they need an additional AED," said Dr. Rob Flannery with University Hospitals.

Kenston High School was one of the schools that took the challenge—which for them was truly eye-opening.

"We tested five of our venues and two of them — one of them was right on the border. If we had a really fast runner, they could probably make it, but your average runner may or may not make it in time. And then we had one that did not make it. And that's okay because it showed us what we need," said Kentson High School athletic trainer Viviani Deubel.

Deubel said that the venue "failing" the challenge wasn't a failure at all—it's something that will now protect not only the students and athlete, but the entire community.

"The community will benefit as well by getting an AED at this location because they use it for all the youth programs and stuff like that too," she said.

Students are joining staff in participating in the challenge and learning how to be prepared to act in case of a cardiac emergency. That's something Ward's mom, and president of MTKYN, Nicole, appreciates.

"Teaching them at that level, it's creating a generation that will last for a lifetime and will make a difference in a lifetime," she said.

Matt Kaulig, executive chairman of Kaulig Companies, was thrilled to be involved in the initiative, knowing that this program will inevitably save lives.

"If somebody goes into sudden cardiac arrest, then we're going to need that thing. And so everybody needs to know where they are and what to do and how to use it. And that's the goal," he said.