Source: Porter County Health Department
Home to the Porter County Fair and a full calendar of trade shows, craft and car shows, concerts, weddings and community events, the Porter County Expo Center and Fairgrounds in Valparaiso, Indiana welcomes visitors from across Northwest Indiana throughout the year. Now it is even better prepared for a sudden cardiac arrest emergency, thanks to two new SaveHeart by HeartNation outdoor AED cabinets.
On August 31, the Porter County Health Department announced that two more SaveHeart by HeartNation AED cabinets are in place at the Expo Center - one beside the main entrance and one at the East Expo building. Both are SaveHeart Wall-Mount cabinets mounted outside, so a lifesaving AED is within reach 24×7, whether the gates are open for the county fair or the buildings are closed for the night.
“These stations provide quick access to an AED when every second counts and are another important step towards making Porter County a HEARTsafe community.” - Porter County Health Department
From One SaveHeart by HeartNation Cabinet to a Countywide Network
Porter County’s outdoor AED program began in August 2025, when the Porter County Health Department - together with Valparaiso Parks, the Valparaiso Fire Department and the Zac Mago Foundation - installed its first SaveHeart by HeartNation cabinet at Central Park Plaza in downtown Valparaiso, near the Northwest Health Amphitheater. Four more locations were planned in areas with high foot traffic and public events: Fairgrounds Park and the Expo Center in Valparaiso, Thomas Centennial Park in Chesterton and Founders Square in Portage.
A year later, that plan is complete. With the Expo Center cabinets in place, every location named at the program’s launch now has 24×7 access to an AED - and the program has already grown beyond the original list, including a new SaveHeart by HeartNation cabinet at Drazer Memorial Park in Kouts. Hundreds more are planned across the county.
Like every cabinet in the program, the Expo Center Wall-Mounts are made in the USA by SaveHeart by HeartNation for outdoor public access: weather-resistant and climate-controlled to keep the AED ready in all conditions, alarmed and lighted, with a back-lit top and a transparent cover for visibility, and smart monitored to confirm AED readiness and send real-time alerts.
Honoring Zac by Protecting Others
The Zac Mago Foundation has been a driving force behind Porter County’s progress. Teresa Mago founded the organization after her son Zac died of sudden cardiac arrest in 2018, just one week before his 18th birthday. Zac was an honor student and a standout basketball player at John Glenn High School in Walkerton, Indiana, and a young man who made a lasting impression on the people around him.
Since then, the foundation has worked to raise awareness of sudden cardiac arrest and prevent it - offering affordable youth heart screenings, placing AEDs and providing CPR training. This year, it is working toward screening 3,000 youth and young adults.
In Porter County, its partnership has grown from school-based screening events to monthly heart screenings through the County Health Department, and those screenings have already flagged students with heart abnormalities, some of whom may require surgery. The foundation is also a member of the HEARTSafe Porter County Community Team, where it has been called “critical” to the county’s youth screening and public AED efforts, including bringing SaveHeart by HeartNation outdoor AED cabinets to the places where people gather.
“The Zac Mago Foundation is committed to equipping communities with the tools and knowledge to combat sudden cardiac arrest,” Mago said when the first cabinet was installed in 2025. “By placing these SaveHeart stations, Porter County is taking a big step toward saving lives and building a safer community.”
It Takes a Community
Projects like the Expo Center cabinets come together when many partners share the same goal.
“It takes a community working together to save lives,” the health department said. “We’re proud to have so many partners committed to making Porter County safer and better prepared for sudden cardiac arrest.”
The SaveHeart by HeartNation cabinets are part of HEARTSafe Porter County, a countywide initiative working toward HEARTSafe designation for all of Porter County. Its focus includes heart screenings and prevention, hands-only CPR training, education and awareness, emergency preparedness and expanded access to AEDs. Residents, businesses and organizations can support the effort through the Porter County Community Foundation at pccf.gives/heartsafe, and sponsors of a complete 24×7-accessible AED unit are recognized with custom signage featuring their name and logo.
For SaveHeart by HeartNation, Porter County shows what’s possible when public health, parks, fire departments and non-profit partners work together to place AEDs outdoors where people live, work and play. We’re proud to be part of Porter County’s lifesaving program, and we thank HEARTSafe Porter County, the Porter County Health Department and the Zac Mago Foundation for their partnership and leadership. The beat goes on in Porter County!