HAVERHILL — There is no way to say that Pentucket High hockey player Matt McCarthy's life could have been saved if the city had a portable defibrillator at Veterans Memorial Arena, where the teen collapsed and died Dec. 29.
However, two local companies are saying they want to make sure the rink is equipped in case someone goes into sudden cardiac arrest and needs the automated external defibrillators to shock the heart back into normal rhythm.
City officials hope to have the devices available at the stadium on Lincoln Avenue, as well as Veterans Memorial Arena. City officials said Pentucket Medical Associates in Haverhill and Trinity EMS, which provides ambulance service to the city, each offered to donate one of the portable devices to Haverhill and train city employees in their use at no charge.
"They would serve as another layer of safety," said Vincent Ouellette, the city's human services director. "Two well-respected organizations have stepped up to the plate and it is greatly appreciated."
McCarthy, 17, of Merrimac collapsed after hockey practice. Police said rescue crews treated him at the scene and took him to Merrimack Valley Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The cause of McCarthy's death is still unknown and officials said they do not know if a defibrillator would have helped save the teen's life or even if one could have been used in this particular instance.
"I'm not a physician and I don't know if one of these devices would have helped save that young boy," City Councilor David Hall said. "You can't overreact as far as I'm concerned."
Hall, head of the council's Public Safety Committee, said that for a city of this size, it's not just young people using the ice rink.
"We have grandfathers there and what if something happened to an 80-year-old man?" Hall said. "This rink doesn't just benefit from this donation, the whole area benefits."
The portable defibrillators are found in other city buildings like the library, the police station and the Citizens Center on Welcome Street.
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