Master Patrolman Scott Hatch displays a new
defibrillator donated in memory of Lydia King.
Her granddaughter, Amanda Rose Saffer presented the defibrillator.
(Courtesy photo)
Have a Heart: Family Donates Defibrillator to PD
Wednesday, June 23, 2004
Everyone deserves a chance to be rescued. Though even the efforts of police and medical professionals were not enough to revive Lydia King when she took ill at an event at the Georgetown Country Club last year, her family acknowledged that everything humanly possible was done to save her. For that reason, they chose to donate a brand new defibrillator to the police department.
"We wanted to do something in her memory, and I know she'd be happy knowing we did this," said daughter Tammy Saffer of Cedar Lane.
Lydia King was just 67 when she died.
Earlier this year, the Georgetown Police Association sent out a letter asking for donations to help fund the scholarships and programs they support, as well as important items the department could not purchase in its own budget at that time. One of those items was a defibrillator.
Master Patrolman Scott Hatch was the first on-scene when Lydia King needed medical help, and he was also the one to receive the call from Saffer about the defibrillator.
"She asked me how much a defibrillator was. I was a little confused - we don't get donations this large - so I told her I had to look into it," said Hatch. Hatch was surprised to find the family intended to purchase the machine outright for the department. "I gave her a price, and then a little while later, a check for the whole amount arrived."
Saffer said she and her family had been searching for a way to say thank you to those who helped try to rescue her mother, and when she saw the letter from the police association specifically looking for a defibrillator, she knew this would be the perfect way to do so.
The donation was made by Lydia's husband, Arthur King; his daughter, Tammy, and her family, husband Gary, daughter Amanda Rose, age 5 and son Adam, 17 months; and Lydia's son, Arthur King Jr. and his family.
A combination of other donations allowed the association to buy another defibrillator as well, which means every vehicle in the department's fleet is now equipped with one of these life saving machines. It is of particular importance in Georgetown as the police are the only full-time emergency personnel and almost always the first on-scene at a medical emergency.
"I know there's a guy up on Woodland Road who is alive because of one of these defibrillators," said Hatch.
There is also a machine in the station in the event someone comes in seeking medical attention.
Every member of the police department is trained with the defibrillator and many, like Hatch, are also emergency medical technicians. Hatch has worked as an EMT for 10 years.
While the King and Saffer family donation was a rare gift, many others came forward with donations this year.
"The response was phenomenal," said Hatch.
With the donations the department received, they were also able to:
Purchase a cruiser computer;
Increase scholarship donations to Georgetown graduates;
Provide donations each school in Georgetown towards such items as playground equipment and fire code maintenance.
This article originally appeared in the Georgetown Record on Wednesday, June 23, 2004 , by Matt Phillion/ Mphillio@Cnc.Com
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