Bittner Park has just gotten a little bit safer after the installation of an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) thanks to a collaboration between a local family, an area non-profit, and the Guilford Park and Recreation Department.

The AED, installed at the park on Oct. 26, was made possible through funds raised at the Ianniello Golf Classic and a donation from the In a Heartbeat Foundation. According to town officials, the installation is especially important due to the remoteness of Bittner Park from emergency personnel. A local man suffered a cardiac event and died at the park last year while playing disc golf. Park and Recreation Director Rick Maynard said he hopes the AED will help provide a measure of safety for recreationists.

The Ianniello Golf Classic is held annually in memory of Michael Ianniello. According to Thomas Ianniello, Michael was 33 years old when he died playing basketball at the East Haven Middle School.

“We were playing basketball and then Michael fell. His daughter, Emily, was only a week old. She was born on a Monday and [he] died the following Monday. I hadn’t seen him in a week because he was on leave, but we were playing and he just fell. He was in my arms when he died,” said Ianniello. “We were very close. And this was horrible. My mother never really recovered. This had a very horrible impact on all of our family.”

The golfing fundraiser had traditionally been held to benefit Michael’s newborn daughter Emily. Now an adult, Emily and the Ianniello family wanted to continue raising awareness and making a difference by supplying municipalities and businesses with lifesaving AEDs.

Ianniello said he and his family are grateful that they can still honor Michael and that by distributing AEDs they may be able to prevent an outcome like the one that so grievously affected their family.

“We certainly hope it is never used. But if it’s ever needed it’s here to be used. I’m also glad that we were able to provide for Michael’s daughter Emily and now that can be passed on to others,” said Ianniello. “We still hold the annual golf tournament and going forward we hope we can continue to raise funds for projects like this. Who knows, if one of these were available for Michael he may have survived.”

The In a Heartbeat Foundation also helped make the AED installation possible. Michael Papale, founder and president of the Foundation, has been working with the Town to install AEDs across Guilford over the last few years. The cause is near to Papale’s own heart — he suffered a sudden cardiac arrest at age 17.

In 2006, Papale collapsed and “died” after playing basketball. Fortunately, there was an EMS member nearby who was able to perform CPR until an ambulance equipped with an AED arrived and shocked him “back to life.” Doctors discovered that Papale suffered from an undiagnosed heart ailment, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Papale, in addition to his work with In a Heartbeat, works for Guilford-based AED manufacturer Defibtech.

“Defibtech is the manufacturer, and my nonprofit helps provide these devices to municipalities and merchants,” said Papale.

Statistics from the National Institute of Health (NIH) are clear: people who suffer cardiac arrest are far more likely to survive and survive with fewer complications if CPR and/or an AED are utilized as quickly as possible after the onset of symptoms. That is why emergency personnel and emergency experts recommend taking a CPR and AED course to obtain the skills and practice to deal with a cardiac arrest scenario in an emergency.

AEDs have been installed at numerous throughout Guilford, including all of the elementary and middle schools and the high school. AEDs can also be found at both Jacobs and Quonnipaug Town beaches, and there are five locations around the Green at Page Hardware, The Market Place, Town Hall, St. George Church, and the Congregational Church, as well as the Community Center.

AEDS are designed for ease of use: simply open any brand or style of AED and voice commands will walk you through the process.

It is not possible to shock yourself with an AED, and it is not possible to hurt someone else either, according to the manufacturer. The device will only operate if it detects a certain type of irregular heartbeat, even if it did somehow malfunction, being shocked by it would not injure a person or alter their heart rhythm.

Maynard said the device will ideally never have to be used but said that the remote location of Bittner and previous cardiac incidents at the Park, make it an excellent location for the AED.

“We really could have placed this anywhere, but the type of activities up at Bittner and its location just makes sense,” said Maynard. “Anything that might help in an emergency or a crisis is a good thing. We have more than 250 people a week just participating in pickleball, so this will add a true measure of safety for folks.”

Maynard also praised the efforts of all involved in coordinating the purchase and installation, including Bob and Melissa Shaw who donated the device.

“We are thankful to everyone, The Ianniello family, Mike Papale and his organization, and to [Assistant Fire Chief] Mike Shove at the fire department, and also the Shaws. We are extremely grateful to all who helped get this project installed. It was a great team that made this all happen,” said Maynard.

Guilford resident, Bob Shaw, was a close friend of Michael Ianniello and his family and felt his friend’s loss deeply. He has been an integral part of the annual golf tourney to honor Michael, and he and his wife Melissa were also critical in bringing the AED device to Bittner.

“Mike and I were childhood friends. I was his Best Man at his wedding and he was my Best Man at mine. This year, someone mentioned about placing AEDs, and I thought that was a great idea and I said I’d look into that,” Shaw said. “After this year’s tournament, we thought we’d maybe go in a different direction with the money because Michael’s daughter Emily was taken care of by this point. I reached out to Mike Papale of In a Heartbeat and that got the ball rolling on getting it installed. It is a great project and we reached out to Rick Maynard because we thought Bittner would be a logical spot for an AED with all of the folks who use the park. Hopefully, it might save someone in the future. It’s a great community thing and we are happy to be part of it. The town and Rick were incredible in helping move this forward. We are also hoping to get one in at Chittenden Beach as well, in the future.”