Winter Haven, FL – The Culpepper Cardiac Foundation (CCF) has placed its 81st automated external defibrillator (AED) in Polk County, installing the life-saving device at Connect Church in Winter Haven. The new AED comes as part of the foundation’s ongoing mission to increase access to cardiac emergency equipment throughout the community.
For Connect Church, the decision to add an AED to its campus was shaped by personal experience, medical insight, and community connections.
A Request Rooted in Personal Experience
Church member Anna Jackson, a pediatric nurse at Lakeland Regional Health, was the first to approach church leadership about acquiring an AED. Her motivation came from an incident that forever changed her family.
“In August 2021, my father went into ventricular fibrillation,” Jackson shared. “The EMTs delivered three shocks from an AED, and in total he experienced cardiac death for forty-five minutes. He was not expected to survive. Thankfully, by God’s grace and dedicated medical professionals, he made a full recovery with no injuries. My family knows firsthand how important an AED and cardiac life support is in situations like that.”
That experience compelled Jackson to reach out to the elders at Connect Church. “We all decided it would be best to have one on campus in case of an emergency,” she said.
Connecting With CCF
Deacon Dale Baker was then asked to research AED placement. Familiar with CCF founder Melanie Brown Culpepper through local nonprofit work—and through his wife, who knows Melanie from her hair salon—Baker knew exactly where to turn.
“When Anna asked the elders to consider getting an AED, they asked me to look into it, and I immediately thought of Melanie,” Baker said. “Having an AED on location is an excellent idea. Eric did a great job demonstrating the AED and also gave us other important information on choking and fire prevention.”
Jackson said meeting Melanie was especially meaningful.
“I have tremendous respect for the CCF Foundation,” she said. “To be able to take a personal trauma and use it for a greater cause is not an easy task to accomplish. Melanie’s story is very personal to me, as we both understand the same trauma. It was very neat to be able to talk with her about all the changes AEDs have made in people’s lives.”
Training Brings Confidence to the Congregation
CCF provided hands-on demonstrations during the installation, something church members found invaluable.
“The demonstrations were extremely helpful and not complicated,” Jackson said. “I know my church now feels more confident in being able to perform aid in case of an emergency.”
A Mission Born From Tragedy
Founded by Melanie Brown Culpepper in memory of her late fiancé, Michael Culpepper, who tragically passed away from heart failure in July 2020 at age 34, the Culpepper Cardiac Foundation has grown into a powerful community force. The all-volunteer organization now places a minimum of two AEDs each month throughout Polk County and provides three annual scholarships to students pursuing careers as first responders in fire, medical, or EMT fields.
A Community Made Stronger
With the installation of AED #81, Connect Church joins dozens of other local organizations taking proactive steps to protect their members and guests during cardiac emergencies.
“Thank you for all of your time and effort that you put into your mission,” Jackson added, expressing gratitude to CCF on behalf of the church.
For more information about the Culpepper Cardiac Foundation, visit CulpepperAED.com.
