Defibrillator campaign is catching on in Windsor-Essex

By Mark Ribble

A local call for awareness of Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) units is catching on with the public and Essex-Windsor EMS would like to see it further developed in the region.

According to Essex-Windsor EMS Paramedic Dave Thibodeau, they’ve mapped out about 1,100 AEDs throughout the region, but he believes there are about 2,000 such units across the city and county — in various clubs, businesses and recreational buildings.

The units are considered lifesavers when it comes to cardiac arrest.

Thibodeau is travelling the county, talking to companies and organizations about the importance of having an AED on site and they are also exploring outdoor public AEDs in vital areas of the city and county.

Meanwhile, an app called PulsePoint has been developed to map each unit so that in an emergency, a bystander can locate the closest AED unit and take immediate action while waiting for the arrival of EMS.

The average time for EMS response is between eight and 12 minutes and Thibodeau says that someone starting CPR and administering the AED immediately can reduce the rate of death considerably for a cardiac patient.

Essex-Windsor EMS Chief Justin Lammers is supportive of Thibodeau’s quest to bring awareness to the AED program.

“It’s in our mission statement to do what Dave’s doing,” said Lammers. “No matter how efficient we get as EMS, we’re looking at 8-12 minutes on a good day. It’s the bystanders we need to engage.”

Lammers says the community has really stepped up and a recent contest for mapping as many AED units as possible on the PulsePoint app provided lots of community involvement.

One of the companies who has stepped up to help is Windsor-based Centerline Group. 

They’ve recently replaced all of their AED units and graciously donated their older units to various not-for-profits around Windsor-Essex. The Canadian Transportation Museum at Heritage Village, along with Cedarwin Camp, and the Leamington Community Hope Centre each benefited from Centerline’s generosity.

The three Knights of Columbus Councils in southern Essex County have also partnered to purchase a new AED unit for the Jack Miner Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

 The Kingsville Knights of Columbus, along with Leamington’s St. Anthony’s Knights of Columbus and St. Michael’s Knights of Columbus, were on hand on Monday, January 27 to present the unit to Jack Miner Executive Director Matthew Olewski. The unit has been installed inside the Jack Miner Learning Centre.

Each new unit costs about $2,500 and according to Thibodeau, it’s worth its weight in gold.

Thibodeau and fellow paramedic Lisa Das Neves put several staffers from the Leamington Community Hope Centre through some instruction on how to use the AED on Tuesday, January 28. The Hope Centre was one of the recipients of a Centreline AED later that day.

Thibodeau discussed with his ‘students’ just how important the AED is and how easy it is to use.

If you notice someone down, your first instinct is to go to them, but Thibodeau says you should call 9-1-1- first and then locate the nearest AED — readily available on the PulsePoint app — then go to the victim.

After checking for a pulse and other signs of life, he said it’s time to put the AED to work, all the while administering the proper CPR methods.

As they wrapped up the session, the employees were buzzing about what they’d learned about lifesaving, and while hoping they’d never have to use their new-found skills, they were all happy to have the skills to help.

The effort is part of an overall campaign to make the public ultra-aware of AED locations throughout the city and county.

Thibodeau says he hopes to get many more outdoor locations confirmed in the near future and is open to a public education session on how to use them.

Outdoor AEDs would be ideal in parks, marinas and other outdoor areas where people tend to gather.

The PulsePoint AED app is available through the Apple Store and Google Play for Androids. Or you can visit their website at countyofessex.ca for more information and then click on Emergency Services.