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CHATHAM TOWNSHIP, NJ - Take a look at any public park in Chatham -- the township and the borough -- and you’ll see the result of months of work by JoAnne Babbitt, a longtime resident whose son, John, died suddenly of an unknown heart condition several years ago at the age of 16.
At each park, there’s at least one Automated External Defibrillator with instructions in case of an emergency like John Babbitt’s. But with any luck, the AEDs will serve no purpose other than being ornaments. "We hope that none of these units are ever used," Chatham Township Mayor Kevin Tubbs said.
After her son unexpectedly died while playing basketball in a youth ministry league, JoAnn Babbitt decided two things: she wanted somebody having a heart problem to have a fighting chance to survive, and she wanted to give back to the community that was so supportive of her family following John’s death, she said.
As part of the John Taylor Babbitt Foundation, Babbitt worked with Chatham officials to help research, fund and install the AEDs at every public park. All township parks are now outfitted with the defibrillators and the borough’s parks should be completed by the end of the week, Recreation Director Carol Nauta said. Training to use the devices has also been given to many of Chatham’s coaches and is expected to continue.
Chatham already has AEDs in other public places, including the Town Hall, public pool and the schools, Tubbs said. The parks are the first outdoor locations at which the AEDs are placed. "They’re going to be in an awful lot of places where the public gathers," Nauta said. For Babbitt, that brings a sense of relief, knowing that if there is an emergency, a person’s chance of survival increases exponentially with the use of a defibrillator. "I do feel relief and I feel like we at least put the tool out there," she said. "I’m proud, I’m honored, I’m humbled."
Babbitt said the Foundation will continue to educate the public and try to reduce deaths in teenage athletes so nobody suffers the way her son did. "There’s a lot out there to be done," she said.
Photo above: Automated External Defibrillators, like the one here at Chatham Town Hall, are now installed at all township and borough public parks
Photo by Dustin Racioppi
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