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The Cochrane Activettes’ 45th Anniversary Legacy Project will see 10 AEDs placed around town.

The Cochrane Activettes’ 45th Anniversary Legacy Project is almost complete – the placement of 10 accessible Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) around town.
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Activette director Chelsea Mann, Cochrane Humane Society volunteer coordinator Shawna Ryley, and Activette president Marcia Gilbertson.

The Cochrane Activettes’ 45th Anniversary Legacy Project is almost complete – the placement of 10 accessible Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) around town.

Chelsea Mann is on the Activettes AED program committee and is on the board of directors.

The Activettes’ legacy projects are aimed at leaving behind a legacy over and above all of the good work done by the group in a variety of areas around Cochrane.

“During our meetings we talked about some different ideas on how to allocate these funds, and came up with the idea of purchasing AEDs for the town,” she said.

They purchased ten – six are in place and they’re still waiting for confirmation on the final four locations. The goal is to place the units in buildings open 24/7, (or at least open for longer hours than normal businesses) so gas stations and convenience stores would be prime examples.

The Activettes consulted with AHS and Cochrane’s EMS Citizens Action Group in deciding where to locate the equipment.

The goal is also to spread the AEDs out so each community would have at least one nearby, so they’ve placed them in gas stations in Heartland, Riverside, Fireside and Sunset.

The Activettes got a discounted price from a supplier to provide the 10 units, which Mann described as top-of-the-line models that self-check and don’t require the maintenance of some of the older models.

She said AEDs save lives and can be operated by anyone – operators need only follow the instructions provided by the unit itself.

The new AEDs are also registered in conjunction with Alberta Health Services’ Public Access to Defibrillation (PAD) Program, which promotes increased survival from sudden cardiac arrest by encouraging communities and supporting the public.

The PAD program’s stated goals are to make AEDs available in publicly accessible areas; register them with the free AHS Heart-Safe.ca database; share AED locations with 9-1-1 Emergency Medical Services Dispatch; encourage people to take Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) training, and, support public use of AEDs at medical emergencies.

Mann wears a couple of hats in relation to emergency services and AEDs. She is a registered nurse, and also owns and operates Cochrane Emergency Training Services.

“I personally was very excited to be part of this committee with the Activettes because of my background in knowing how important the use of an AED is,” she said.

She cited some stats to support that importance.

If used within the first three minutes of cardiac arrest, survival can increase 70 per cent. If ten minutes pass without defibrillation, survival rates start to drop by seven to 10 per cent per minute.

“So while we’re waiting for an ambulance, if the general population can get comfortable with using an AED, we can increase the chance of survival,” she said.

“The biggest thing is to grab an AED and turn it on,” she said. “It will tell you exactly what to do.”

And there’s apparently no reason for the public to not be comfortable, according to Mann, because the machine walks the operator through it all, every step of the way.

It even will tell operators whether defibrillation is advised, or if CPR is advised, and provides a beeping timer to help keep the chest compressions at the proper beat.

Those familiar with CPR training might be aware of one of the “fun facts” about how some trainers provide the necessary timing tools to help trainees keep the required rhythm for the chest depressions.

The Bee Gees song “Stayin Alive” is sometimes played. “Another One Bites the Dust” by Queen also fits the bill.

“It’s that tempo, 100 to 120 beats per minute, which is a lot of popular songs,” Mann said, adding the childrens’ hit “Baby Shark” to the list.

To learn more about CPR training at Cochrane Emergency Training go to cochraneemergencytraining.com.


Howard May

About the Author: Howard May

Howard was a journalist with the Calgary Herald and with the Abbotsford Times in BC, where he won a BC/Yukon Community Newspaper Association award for best outdoor writing.
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