Porter County Installs New “SaveHeart” Stations to Boost Public Safety in Town of Kouts

On Tuesday, November 25, the Porter County Health Department partnered with leadership from the Town of Kouts to install a new publicly accessible automated external defibrillator (AED) at Drazer Memorial Park.

This marks the fourth AED installed in Porter County in 2025, with Sandberg Electric donating their time and service to install the unit for free, a key step toward making the county a ‘HEARTSafe community’ by improving AED accessibility.

“We’re a small town with a small budget, so when we were asked about this, we said absolutely”, Jim Smith said, town marshal for the Town of Kouts. “We’re proud to host it here, especially since there are only four of them in the community, and we hope this helps pave the way for other communities to follow.”

These SaveHeart stations are designed for public use, with features like climate control to ensure the AEDs remain operational in varying weather conditions. They also include audible and visual alarms, transparent covers for visibility, and video and remote monitoring capabilities to ensure functionality.

“Here in south Porter County, having an AED available is important for our community”, Orville Jefferson said, building inspector for the Town of Kouts. “This is the only one in the area, so it’s great to have. We hope people know it’s here, though hopefully we’ll never need to use it”.

Here are the current SaveHeart stations in Porter County:

• Valparaiso:
  o Central Park Plaza, at the amphitheater restroom. (Installed on August 15, 2025)
  o Fairgrounds Park, near the concession stand (Old Fairgrounds). (Installed on August 15,
  2025)
• Chesterton:
  o Thomas Centennial Park. (Installed on August 21, 2025)
• Kouts:
  o Drazer Memorial Park. (Installed on November 25, 2025)

(Photo Caption- Names and Organizations from left to right) Jim Smith- Kouts Police Department, Terra Cagle, MA- Porter County Health Department, Kris Contrino- Porter County Health Department, Matthew Paul- Porter County Health Department, Dr. Rodney Guimont- Porter County Health Department, Orville Jefferson- Town of Kouts, Jeff Dees- Porter County Health Department, Coffey, BSN, RN- Porter County Health Department.

(Not in Photo) Laurie Tribble- Town of Kouts Clerk-Treasurer, Teresa Mago- Zac Mago Foundation.