BENTON HARBOR, Mich. (WNDU) – A life-saving collaboration between the NFL, Michigan state officials and Benton Harbor High School took place Friday.

An automated external defibrillator (AED) was donated to the school’s athletic department. Michigan received a total of 50 AEDs, one for each voting district in the state.

State Rep. Joey Andrews (D-38th District) personally delivered the AED to Benton Harbor High School.

The NFL was in the Wolverine State for the draft a few months ago. That made these donations possible.

Millions watched as Buffalo Bills’ Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest, and Andrews said that moment and personal experiences inspired the collaboration.

“Every couple of years or so you hear about a kid who got shot in the chest or something, or last year it was the NFL player from the Buffalo Bills who just collapsed on the field. And without the quick medical attention he could have died,” Andrews said. “He was actually a big part of this program that wanted to bring these to the high schools.”

Michael Van Hoven, athletic director at Benton Harbor High School, also commented on the donation.

“Defibrillators weren’t really talked about back then and we lost a guy in our gym in the Conference Finals,” Van Hoven said. “I’m getting teary-eyed now because he’s a great guy and it’s really hard to lose guys like that.”

A recently signed law ensures that schools have AEDs and that they are accessible within one to three minutes in the event of a cardiac emergency.

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