This spring, the Educational & Institutional Insurance Administrators (EIIA) Risk Management Foundation awarded Blackburn College $15,000 for new Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) to better equip the campus for cardiac emergencies.
Established in January 2025, the EIIA Risk Management Foundation offers competitive grant funding for EIIA member institutions to improve campus safety. Aligning with EIIA’s core values of Partnering, Preparing, and Protecting, the Foundation is dedicated to equipping member institutions with resources they need to address risk management challenges, ensuring the well-being of students, faculty, and staff as well as the maintenance of facilities.
At Blackburn College, Director of Campus Safety Ron Lewis and the Office of Institutional Advancement developed a proposal to ensure emergency readiness with AEDs.
Although Blackburn already met Illinois requirements regarding AED availability and there have been no prior cardiac emergencies requiring AEDs, Lewis saw an opportunity to enhance campus safety and train campus community members to use them in response to signs of cardiac arrest. According to the American Heart Association and World Health Organization (WHO), cardiovascular disease (CVD) affects half the U.S. population and is the leading cause of death and disability in our nation and globally. CVD increases the risk of sudden cardiac arrest, and an accessible AED can help increase the likelihood of survival.
At Blackburn, Lewis is looking for ways to enhance health and safety through preventative measures and updated equipment. He brings to his role as Director of Campus Safety both the experience and expertise he gained in serving as an Illinois State Police officer for 20 years. He oversees all areas of campus safety and teaches students in Blackburn’s Work Program to fill professional campus safety roles.
About the EIIA Foundation grant, Lewis states: “This will help Blackburn purchase AEDs so we can install them in strategic locations across campus to increase the likelihood of survival of any community member experiencing cardiac arrest. Our aim is to protect our residential and commuter students, our faculty and staff, and the many visitors to our campus.”
Blackburn’s Director of Development and Foundation Relations, Elisabeth Kramp, states: “We’re grateful for funding for this project. The EIIA staff members have been great to work with because they’re personally involved with their member institutions and look out for the well-being of our campus. CEO and President Dave Dietz and Risk Management Director Judy Davis-Helms let us know that there were funding opportunities so we could mitigate safety risks and make the campus a safer place for us all.”
For more information about contributing to capital projects at Blackburn College, please contact the Office of Institutional Advancement.