Lucie Krisman  - Leawood

Leawood is adding cardiac SaveStations to major city parks

Leawood SaveStation

The city of Leawood aims to arm its major parks with SaveStations to help parkgoers in cardiac emergencies. Above, the city's first and only park SaveStation at Ironwoods Park. Photo credit Lucie Krisman.

The city of Leawood aims to arm more of its parks with tools to help park visitors in cardiac emergencies.

The Leawood Fire Department, in partnership with the Johnson County HeartSafe Foundation, plans to install SaveStation cabinets in every major city park.

Here’s what we know so far.

Leawood SaveStations
Above, Leawood resident Nancy Holland and her husband with the city of Leawood’s first park SaveStation — after donating it in 2021. Photo via Johnson County HeartSafe Facebook page.

The first park SaveStation was installed in 2021

  • SaveStations house automated external defibrillators (or AEDs), which are used to help people experiencing cardiac arrest.
  • Ironwoods Park is the only Leawood park to have a SaveStation, which park goers can find at the restrooms of the park’s amphitheater.
  • Nancy Holland, a Leawood resident and cardiac arrest survivor, donated the SaveStation.

Five more defribillators are coming to city parks

Leawood Fire Chief Colin Fitzgerald gave the Post this list of parks that are getting first priority for SaveStations:

  • City Park near College Boulevard and State Line Road
  • Gezer Park at 133rd Street and Mission Road
  • Tomahawk Park near 119th Street and Mission Road
  • I-Lan Park near 127th Street and Nall Avenue
  • Leawoof Dog Park near College Boulevard and State Line Road

The city is earmarking $19,480 in the fire department’s proposed 2024 budget for the purchase of the SaveStations and the defribillators. The fire department will maintain the defribillators.

Leawood was the first Johnson County city to get a SaveStation

  • The installations come as a partnered effort with the Johnson County HeartSafe Foundation.
  • The local nonprofit seeks to educate Johnson County residents about tools that can increase the chances of survival after cardiac arrest.
  • “Think about the stories of high schoolers on soccer fields that go down and AEDs saving their lives — this puts one there instead of waiting for a police officer or firefighter to show up with one,” said Fire Chief Colin Fitzgerald at a city meeting Monday. “I’m really thrilled about this because if it saves even one person, it’s exciting.”

Go deeper: Read more about Leawood’s first SaveStation here.

Hi! I'm Lucie Krisman, and I cover the city of Leawood and the Blue Valley School District for the Post.

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A bit about me and my background:

I'm a native of Tulsa, Okla., but have been living in Kansas since I moved here to attend KU, where I earned my degree in journalism. Prior to joining the Post, I did work for The Pitch, the Eudora Times, the North Dakota Newspaper Association and KTUL in Tulsa.