All Mental Health Association in Chautauqua County staff and volunteers recently received training in CPR and use of the AED purchased through a grant from Cummins Jamestown Engine Plant. Pictured from left are trainer Bob Goold, staffers Brandon Griggs, Michael Nordin, and Jill Marsh, and volunteer Tina Morgan.

Cummins Jamestown Engine Plant and the Mental Health Association in Chautauqua County have collaborated on a number of projects in recent years, with Cummins employees helping with painting, cleaning, and outdoor tasks.

Jill Marsh, Mental Health Association finance director, recently thanked Cummins for a grant to purchase an AED. Designed to be simple to use for the layperson, an AED (automated external defibrillator) is a portable, user-friendly medical device that can deliver an electrical shock to the heart to restore a normal rhythm during a sudden cardiac arrest.

“The grant is a blessing to the MHA,” Marsh said. “We want to make sure we have items in place for everyone’s safety.”

All MHA staff and volunteers were trained in CPR and the AED by Bob Goold. CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) is an emergency procedure used during cardiac or respiratory arrest that involves chest compressions to preserve brain function and maintain circulation until spontaneous breathing and heartbeat can be restored.

MHA Grant Manager Michelle Colaiacovo worked with Cummins to secure the funds to purchase the equipment. The training itself was paid for by an anonymous donor.

The Mental Health Association in Chautauqua County is a peer recovery center offering support groups and individual coaching for people looking to improve their lives, deepen wellness, thrive in recovery, or support those on a recovery path. Peers use their personal stories to help people find recovery in their own lives in their own way.

The Jamestown recovery center is open Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Tuesday and Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Hours for the North County recovery center at Grace Lutheran Church, 601 Eagle St., Dunkirk, are Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

To learn more about the Mental Health Association, call 716-661-9044 or visit MHAChautauqua.org or Facebook.com/MHAChautauqua. A schedule with descriptions of MHA’s dozens of groups and classes in Dunkirk and Jamestown is at MHAChautauqua.org/groups.