By Fire Chief Colin Fitzgerald
The City of Leawood Fire Department (LFD), as part of the Johnson County (Kansas) EMS System, has cardiac arrest survival rates that rival the best in the nation. Annual Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival (CARES) data compiled by the Johnson County Office of the Medical Director, shows countywide survival rates that typically push 50%. This is helped by high bystander CPR participation of approximately 60%. However, public AED use was only 7.1% in 2024 and 14.7% in 2025.
As part of its overall community risk reduction efforts, the LFD has a strong public education program, teaching 832 CPR students in 2025 alone. The department is also one of the founding members of the Johnson County HeartSafe Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization that aims to increase the chances of survival after sudden cardiac arrest, through education, awareness and public AED deployment.
Leawood Police Chief Brad Robbins and I were founding members of the Foundation’s Board of Directors, ensuring strong support for the Foundation’s initiatives throughout our agencies and the city. To support the Foundation’s AED deployment initiative, the department donated 36 surplus AEDs for community repurposing.
The outdoor access gap — and solution
While these AEDs can be found in all city facilities and in most city vehicles, all managed and maintained by the fire department, there remained one gap in coverage: AED public access in outdoor areas, like the city’s expansive park space, which includes many playgrounds and sports fields, and a robust trail system.
Research led LFD leadership to the SaveStation outdoor AED cabinet from Action First Aid, a Canada-based company. This device allows the placement of an AED in a climate-controlled and monitored cabinet, allowing 24/7 AED access by the public.
From survivor to advocate
Nancy Holland, a citizen of Leawood, suffered sudden cardiac arrest in a Leawood restaurant. Immediate bystander CPR followed by quick AED deployment by first responders enabled a full recovery. Following the incident, Nancy became an advocate for survivors and bystander training.
In 2021, Nancy and her husband, Jim, partnered with the Leawood Fire Department to bring the first AED SaveStation in the region to Leawood’s Ironwoods Park. Nancy and Jim purchased and donated the AED SaveStation cabinet, with the fire department providing the AED and ongoing cabinet maintenance and monitoring.
SaveStation: How it works
Nancy Holland and her husband, Jim, partnered with the Leawood Fire Department to bring the first AED SaveStation in the region to Leawood’s Ironwoods Park. Nancy and Jim purchased and donated the AED SaveStation cabinet, with the fire department providing the AED and ongoing cabinet maintenance and monitoring.
Photo/Courtesy photo
The AED SaveStation cabinets attach to an external wall or pole and feature advanced technology to ensure the AED inside is always “ready for rescue.” The system provides 24/7 monitoring, monitors when the cabinet is opened and/or if the AED is removed and sends alerts via text and email to designated officials. Additionally, a GPS tracker allows tracking of the AED when on the move.
The cabinet is alarmed, climate-controlled (to maintain optimal AED performance in all seasons) and equipped with illumination for added visibility in low light conditions. Highly visible signage ensures the cabinet is easy for the public to locate and use during a cardiac emergency.
The cabinets work with any brand of AED. Additionally, for PulsePoint communities, this cabinet integrates with the PulsePoint Respond app, allowing 911 agents to dispatch lay-person rescuers to the AED. The cabinet also lights up when in active response mode to help lay-persons locate the SaveStation.
Expanded coverage
After several years of proof of concept, the City of Leawood Governing Body approved a budget initiative request by the LFD in 2024 to fund another five SaveStation cabinets and AEDs. At that time, Action First Aid asked the LFD to be a test site for a newly re-designed cabinet — an initiative led by Division Chief of EMS Aaron Kline.
The five new cabinets are now in service, bringing Leawood’s total to six AED SaveStations — enough to provide outdoor access in all major city parks, another first for the region.
To date, no AED from the Leawood SaveStation cabinets has been used on a cardiac arrest. However, it is not uncommon for someone to notice the cabinets and open them to investigate, trigging a deployment alarm. The LFD uses these instances to help spread awareness, increasing the chance of use during an emergency.
Additionally, with the FIFA World Cup 2026 coming to the Kansas City area this summer — along with an estimated 650,000 local visitors over two months — many outdoor events, including a large soccer tournament, are planned in City of Leawood public spaces, increasing the potential for deployment.
About the Department
The Leawood Fire Department is a small suburban department sitting on the Kansas-Missouri border in Johnson County, Kansas. The department has 58 career uniformed staff and one civilian employee operating out of three fire stations with four front line response crews. The department has been internationally accredited by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International since 2015. It has had an Insurance Services Office (ISO) public protection classification (PPC) rating of 1 since 2016. According to the Center for Public Safety Excellence, only 127 departments currently hold both international accreditation and an ISO 1 rating.
REFERENCES
- Action First Aid
- CARES (Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival)
- Center for Public Safety Excellence
- Johnson County HeartSafe Foundation
- Johnson County Office of the Medical Director
- Leawood Fire Department
- SaveStation
