Student group donates defibrillator to Purdue welcome center

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A Purdue student group called Play for Jake will donate an automated external defibrillator and wall cabinet to the Boilermaker Station Welcome Center on Friday (Oct. 18).

The donation will take place at 3:30 p.m. at the Boilermaker Station Welcome Center, located in Stewart Center, Room 102. 

The student group is an extension of the Play for Jake Foundation in LaPorte, Indiana. The foundation was created after 17-year-old high school student Jake West died from an undetected heart condition during football practice in 2013.

The foundation’s goal is to prevent sudden cardiac arrests among youth and raise awareness on the dangers of undetected heart conditions.  The group works to educate parents and youth and provide screening and protection programs for middle schools and high schools.

The student group Play for Jake has made four other AED donations to Purdue. The other AEDs are located in Krach Leadership Center, the Purdue Armory drill floor and two are in the Wilmeth Active Learning Center.

Kevin Ply, Purdue fire chief, said the push to place public access AEDs on campus began in 2004 after a 19-year-old student collapsed at the intersection of Tower Drive and Martin Jischke Drive while jogging. Paramedics from the Purdue University Fire Department successfully resuscitated the student with defibrillation.

Since that time, more than 300 AEDs have been placed on the Purdue campus and farm properties.  

Writer: Madison Sanneman, msannema@purdue.edu 

Source: Kevin Ply, kmply@purdue.edu