Simcoe County's Defibrillator Program and the Heart and Stroke Foundation
Team Up to Save a Young Boy's Life

PENETANGUISHENE, ON, Nov. 26 /CNW/ - A 13-year old male student attending James Keating Elementary School is alive today thanks to the partnership between the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario and the County of Simcoe Paramedic Services.

The grade 8 student collapsed on one of the school's athletic fields. Staff from the school immediately called 9-1-1 and began CPR and called for the AED. The Southern Georgian Bay OPP arrived on the scene. The officer fully utilized the AED to shock the young student's heart which had stopped beating. Following a brief period of further CPR he began to show signs of circulation. The County of Simcoe Paramedic Services arrived within the next few minutes and confirmed that the 13-year old had a pulse.

The placement of the AED at the James Keating Elementary School was directed by the County of Simcoe Paramedic Services Public Access Defibrillation Program and made possible by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario's Heart&Stroke Restart a Heart, a Life Program and the Chase McEachern Tribute Fund. This AED was put in place on March 4, 2008 .

"Over the past three years we have received generous donations to our Heart&Stroke Restart a Heart, a Life Program and the Chase McEachern Tribute Fund from individuals, community groups and our corporate sponsors. With these funds we have been able to allocate 2,795 AED units in communities across the province," says Marco Di Buono, Director of Research, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario. "This life saved is a testament to what happens when individuals in the community learn CPR and when an AED is within reach.

According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, up to 85 percent of cardiac arrests occur at home or in public places and almost half are witnessed by a family member or friend. In Ontario alone, approximately 7,000 out-of hospital sudden cardiac arrests occur annually. The survival rate of victims for an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is a dismal five percent. However, CPR performed by a bystander while the emergency medical team is on its way quadruples a person's chance of being successfully resuscitated. Furthermore, defibrillation when used in conjunction with CPR in the first few minutes can dramatically improve cardiac arrest survival rates by more than 50 percent.

"Since our son's death due to complications from a cardiac arrest our family has worked with the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario to ensure that every community across the province is cardiac safe," says John McEachern. "I urge you to donate to fundraising efforts like the Heart&Stroke Chase McEachern Memorial Golf for Heart Tournament and Heart&Stroke Hockey for Heart Tournament, so that we can quickly place AEDs in the remaining 30 schools in SCDSB."

"It is no doubt, that the combination of CPR and the Automated External Defibrillator saves lives," says Warden Tony Guergis. "I am very proud of the role that the County of Simcoe Paramedic Services played in making this is a great day for this young student, his family and the school officials whose quick access to a defibrillator truly made a difference."

"This result is a testament to what can be accomplished with community partnerships," says Andrew Robert , Director and Chief, County of Simcoe Paramedic Services. "The County of Simcoe Public Access Defibrillation program along with partners in the police, municipalities, school boards, the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Chase McEachern Tribute Fund and the community at large has now helped three people to go home to their families. We are very pleased to be a link in this chain of survival."

Ontario has the largest number of publicly allocated Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in Canada and 226 of these AEDs are located in the County of Simcoe.

For more information on the Heart&Stroke Restart a Heart, a Life Program and the Chase McEachern Tribute Fund please visit heartandstroke.ca/restart.

For further information: Sharon Edwards, Associate Manager, Public Relations, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario, [phone] x482 or [email protected]; Allan Greenwood, County Communications Manager, County of Simcoe, [phone] x1230 or [email protected]