Just two-and-a-half years into what was anticipated to be a nearly decade-long effort, the Mathews Volunteer Rescue Squad has completed a program to place an exterior, accessible automated external defibrillator within a five-minute drive of every part of Mathews County.

Squad member Ron Lambert, who conceived of the idea, led fundraising efforts and made sure the devices were installed at 16 sites around the county, said it all started in 2014, after the squad had seen several people saved by AEDs. He recalled specifically a young man who went into cardiac arrest at Thomas Hunter Middle School and was revived by a coach and a school nurse, as well as a man who was working out at the YMCA when he coded and was revived by a staff person and bystanders.

The squad looked at the issue of sudden cardiac arrest and realized that, while a rescue crew could be at many places within five minutes of getting a call, there were other places, such as New Point, Dutton, Onemo, and Mobjack that it ...