Whiteford youth baseball in Joliet to start season with AEDs

Whiteford Baseball has announced a unique life-saving arrangement with the Joliet Fire Department.

The youth baseball organization, which serves Joliet, Plainfield, Shorewood and other surrounding communities, has purchased four AED units, used to aid people having heart attacks, and is receiving life-saving training under the arrangement.

“In setting goals for the coming year Whiteford placed focus on this safety enhancement,” according to news release from the organization.

The AED (Automatic External Defibrillator) equipment was purchased with donations provided by Joliet Firefighters Locals 44 and 2369, the Joliet City Employees - AFSCME Local 440, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 176 and Old National Bank.

The Joliet Fire Department is promoting National Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Automated External Defibrillator Awareness Week, spotlighting how lives can be saved if more people in the US know CPR and how to use AED. — The Joliet Fire Department personnel seen in this file photor from event promoting National Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Automated External Defibrillator Awareness Week. (Photo provided by Joliet Fire Department)

The Joliet Fire Department also is providing training sessions in CPR and bleeding control to Whiteford coaches and staff.

“This small group of sponsors went well beyond what could be expected in their support of our effort,” Jim Prosise, president of Whiteford Baseball, said in the news release.

The equipment will be made “immediately available on each field” for emergencies that may arise, according to the news release.

Whiteford is a volunteer-run organization that in 2024 had more than 600 players ages 5 to 14 from Joliet, Plainfield, Shorewood, Crest Hill, Channahon and Rockdale.