Image Credit: File photo
November 16, 2017 - 3:20 PM
Kamloops, BC - The City of Kamloops urges citizens to learn basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED) skills and to know where the AED devices are located around the city. This fall, two new AED units were installed at the West Highlands Community Centre and the BC Wildlife Park.
“Given the location of the BC Wildlife Park (approximately 20 minutes from the closest BC Ambulance station and approximately 10 minutes from the closest fire station), having an AED unit enhances the public’s ability to provide critical assistance to a person suffering sudden cardiac arrest,” says Heidi Ogilvie, Aquatics Program Supervisor, who oversees the City’s AED program. “The first step is to call 911 immediately, then start CPR and send someone to quickly retrieve the AED.”
AEDs are designed to support critical response to victims of sudden cardiac arrest; the quicker the response, the better the chance of survival. To support this outcome, the City installed public access AED units in a number of its facilities in 2009, and the number grows each year.
Since the program’s launch, seven lives have been saved using AEDs. The first rescue occurred at the Kamloops Curling Club in February 2010. Over the last 10 years, rescues have been performed in pools, parks, and arenas by both staff and the public.
The City uses public access AEDs, which means the AED equipment is located in an open location and is available for anyone to use. Regular users of civic facilities with AEDs should familiarize themselves with the locations of the AEDs so they can quickly respond to a medical emergency. Another helpful tool launched this fall is an interactive map that displays the location of all of the AED units in civic facilities. Several Kamloops businesses also have AED units, and anyone interested in having their business’s AED unit added to the AED map may contact the City by emailing aed@kamloops.ca. The AED map can be viewed at maps.kamloops.ca/aed.
FYI contains information submitted from the public and is displayed exactly as it was received. Information is clearly attributed in bylines and not created by iNFOnews.ca staff. For more information, please contact the referring organization. If you have questions about FYI, or would like to submit information to FYI, please send directly to fyi@infonews.ca.
News from © iNFOnews, 2017