COCHRANE— A few of Cochrane’s parks will be a little safer this summer thanks to Cochrane Minor Ball.
The organization was recently awarded the $10,000 Bow RiversEdge Campground Society’s Capital Reinvestment Grant, and is planning to use the money to install Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) at five ball diamonds in Cochrane.
The Capital Reinvestment Fund is co-managed by the Rotary Club of Cochrane and the Cochrane Lions Club.
Cochrane Minor Ball board member Reid Bilben said he was first made aware of the grant from other board members who mentioned that it might be a good opportunity to fund projects that their organization could pursue.
The board filed their application in the fall and was recently informed that they had been chosen to receive the grant, much to Bilben’s surprise.
“I was somewhat surprised and shocked based on the need in the community these days,” he said.
Bilben identified the need for AEDs based on some personal experiences— His wife has an uncle in Manitoba who pursued a similar project in his community.
“He had actually done a similar project to install AEDs in to recreational facilities out there, and he was actually the first one who received the AED use and it saved his life,” Bilben said. “That was obviously a very close-to-home situation, so we know the impact that AEDs can have.”
Bilben said a close family friend had a child who had their life saved by AED intervention during a medical emergency as well.
“I work in the sport industry, so I was aware that, years ago, there was a big initiative to install AEDs in indoor facilities,” he said. “But it dawned on me that we don’t just need them in indoor facilities, we need them in outdoor facilities as well.”
While researching the topic Bilben found that, across Canada, very few outdoor recreation facilities had publicly available AEDs.
“There’s very few, if any. I found one in Ontario that has a similar program, but other than that, there’s very few available to access if you need to access them.”
Bilben said when considering the details of the program vandalism and misuse was a consideration of the board.
The devices will be located in the green boxes located at the baseball diamonds, which will be locked when the facilities are not in use, he said.
The AEDs have already been purchased and will be installed in April. The devices will be available from April 15 to September 15, after which they will be moved indoors to protect them from the harsh winter conditions.
Other user groups will be able to access the life saving devices by contacting Cochrane Minor Ball and providing a small user fee, which will help to cover some maintenance costs, Bilben said.
The AEDs will be housed at the Mitford diamonds, rodeo ground diamonds, Glenbow diamonds, Matt Krol Diamonds, and the Gleneagles single diamond.
