Releve Sports Medicine Receives 56th AED Donated byCulpepper’s Cardiac Foundation
by James Coulter
Releve Sports Medicine was started seven years ago to help meet the healthcare needs of the Winter Haven community, especially with the treatment of sports injuries.
This local healthcare clinic has become better equipped to meet the immediate needs of patients and non-patients alike now that an automated external defibrillator (AED) has been donated to their facility.
On Wed. Nov 20, Culpepper’s Cardiac Foundation donated its 56th AED to Releve Sports Medicine in Winter Haven. The AED was installed at the clinic’s primary location on Cypress Gardens Boulevard.
Not only will this emergency device be available for any emergencies involving patients and non-patients at or near the clinic, but its portability will also allow it to be used during sideline coverage of sporting events.
“We are so grateful to the Culpepper Cardiac Foundation and Tanner’s Lakeside to have been awarded the AED,” said Dr. Michelle Henne. “Our company and our team have been built on supportive community partnerships like this one. We are blessed to be able to provide this potentially lifesaving intervention if necessary.”
Anne McGrath, Clinical Lead and Athletic Trainer for Polk State College, claimed that the AED will especially be a benefit during their sideline service at sporting events. As such, she was grateful for her organization receiving this donation.
“We are very grateful for the opportunity to receive an AED,” she said. “Our whole plaza would benefit from this AED and is a tool to help keep our community safe. I also work at Polk State College covering sporting events and can use this AED when I am at games to ensure the safety of my athletes, coaches, refs, and spectators.”
This donation was made through the proceeds raised by Tanners’s Lakeside Bingo For a Cause. This donation was the third to be provided thanks in part to the fundraiser.
Kami Rickert, Assistant Manager and Event Coordinator, was impressed by the sheer number of donations made by the organization: “56 AEDs placed in the community is a big task but a necessary endeavor.”
Melanie Brown Culpepper started CCF four years ago following the untimely passing of her late fiancée, Michael Culpepper, who passed away from cardiac arrest.
Not wanting anyone else to suffer a similar fate, Melanie started her organization to show support for local first responders. Since its inception, she has raised proceeds to donate 56 AEDs across Polk County.
CCF will be hosting its annual fundraiser, Saving Lives Matter, on Sat. Nov. 30 at Tanners Lakeside. For more information, visit their Facebook page at: facebook.com/honoringculpepper
