Servus Place was the site of a federal minister’s update on the installation of automated external defibrillators (AED) in arenas around the country.
While St. Albert has already received two of these automated defibrillators under the government’s four-year initiative, St. Albert played host to Health Minister Rona Ambrose and representatives from the Heart and Stroke Foundation on Thursday.
“The risk of sudden cardiac arrest can increase during intense physical activity,” said Ambrose, noting 1,300 have been installed under this program across the country.
The goal is to install 2,000 by the end of the program in March 2016.
“AEDs are really easy to use,” Ambrose said. She and Coun. Tim Osborne both got an opportunity to demonstrate their use as part of the event.
“It was exceptionally easy,” said Osborne after trying the machine and following its instructions for the first time.
Jack Ballash, Servus Place manager, said Servus Place has had a few instances of sudden cardiac arrest.
“It is only through the use of having publicly accessible AEDs that we were able to bring those patients successful healthy outcomes,” said Ballash.
Ballash is also a CPR and AED instructor for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
“For every minute that a defibrillator is not used, the chances of survival decrease between seven and 10 per cent. If that is left for up to 12 minutes, the chance of survival is below five per cent,” Ballash said.
Ballash said there have been AEDs at Servus Place since it was opened back in 2006. There are four on the main floor, two on the second floor and one on the third floor. That includes the two installed as part of this government initiative.
They are located in publicly accessible areas such as near the Go Auto Arena and fitness centre, the pool admissions desk and by the entrance to the gym courts.
The gym floor was the site of one of the instances of cardiac arrest, Ballash said. At the time the one by the court entrance hadn’t been installed yet, so one by the pool admissions desk AED was used and the patient lived.
