Wear Red for Women donates AED to Open Door Service Center and Food Pantry

October 27, 2023

Wear Red for Women, a Bothwell Foundation committee, recently gave an automated external defibrillator (AED) to Open Door Service Center and Food Pantry at 111 W. 6th St. in Sedalia. An AED is a small, lightweight device that allows individuals and first responders to treat sudden cardiac arrest. The machine automatically analyzes the heart rhythm and when appropriate, it delivers an electrical shock to the heart to restore its normal rhythm.

Open Door in Sedalia serves the community with its Open Door Service Center and Food Pantry, Open Door Kitchen and Open Door Thrift Shop. People in need visit the service center and food pantry for utility assistance, clothing, personal products, medical assistance, emergency lodging, transportation and food, all with the assistance of case managers. Having an AED at the service center and food pantry ensures the life-saving device is available in the event of an emergency.

Funds to purchase the device were raised during the 2023 Wear Red for Women luncheon and auction. The committee’s goal is to have AEDs in every place people work, learn, play or pray in Sedalia and Pettis County. Since the inception of the luncheon event in 2020, 72 AEDs have been placed in or committed to various locations. The 2024 Wear Red for Women event is Feb. 23, 2024, and tickets will be available in January.

From left, Trish Henson, committee member; Dianne Simon, Thompson Hills Investment Corporation vice president and committee co-chair; Lauren Thiel-Payne, Bothwell Foundation executive director; Amanda Davis, Open Door executive director; Lori Wightman, Bothwell CEO and committee co-chair; Rhonda Ahern, committee member; Michelle O’Donnell, Open Door development director; and Robin Balke, committee member.
From left, Trish Henson, committee member; Dianne Simon, Thompson Hills Investment Corporation vice president and committee co-chair; Lauren Thiel-Payne, Bothwell Foundation executive director; Amanda Davis, Open Door executive director; Lori Wightman, Bothwell CEO and committee co-chair; Rhonda Ahern, committee member; Michelle O’Donnell, Open Door development director; and Robin Balke, committee member.

Bothwell Regional Health Center is a regional health center serving west-central Missouri with state-of-the-art technology and comprehensive health and wellness services including primary care, specialty care and emergency care. For more information about Bothwell and its services, visit www.brhc.org or find us on Facebook.

Posted in News