Ottawa-Carleton District School Board announces plans to install AEDs in Centretown elementary schools

By Meredith Lauzon

Life-saving devices are coming to more Centretown schools.

None of Centretown’s four OCDSB elementary schools currently has an Automated External Defibrillator or AED, a portable device that delivers a shock to the heart of a victim suffering from a sudden cardiac arrest. But that will change within a year.

The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board announced in October that it plans to place AEDs in all of its schools by September 2018, including its elementary schools.

The push for AEDs in Ottawa elementary schools comes in the wake of the tragic death of eight-year-old Griffin Martin, who suffered a cardiac arrest at his Orleans elementary school during recess in February. It is not known whether an AED would have saved his life, but Griffin’s parents have been campaigning to have them brought to all schools. Griffin’s father, Damien Martin, told CBC recently that he is happy with the OCDSB’s decision to have AEDs in all schools by next September.

The device can mean the difference between life and death when someone’s heart has stopped.

Three high schools in Centretown — Lisgar Collegiate Institute, Richard Pfaff Secondary Alternate and the Adult High School — are already equipped with the devices.

The rollout plan to bring AEDs to all OCDSB schools is still in development, said Sharlene Hunter, a communications and media relations officer at the school board.

There are no fixed dates for when Cambridge Street Community Public School, Centennial Public School, Glashan Public School and Elgin Street Public School will receive their defibrillators.

Hunter said the OCDSB currently has about 35 AEDs in elementary schools and in all middle schools, and the devices are strategically placed where sporting events occur and where school facilities are used by community organizations.

Richard Pfaff, a Percy Street high school for students facing special challenges or circumstances, had a defibrillator installed in 2012, says chief custodian Richard Larabie. He noted that the adjacent McNabb Community Centre and arena both also have defibrillators.

Larabie said he has a weekly log he fills out to ensure there are no cracks or other damage to the device, to make sure a green check mark is visible, and that the AED’s accessory pouch is in place.

To Larabie’s knowledge, the AED has never been used, but having it in the school “leaves us with a sense of security in knowing that if ever there was an issue where it was necessary to use (the AED), at least we have some form of help until the paramedics arrive.”

Using the device itself is easy, said Montfort Hospital nurse Gabrielle Gagnon. As soon as the AED is switched on, the device will tell you through a built-in speaker exactly where to put the pads, and once it has assessed cardiac activity, will tell you when to administer a shock and when to perform CPR, even vocalizing a rhythm to follow.

“CPR alone will not save a life; the shock is what will save the life,” she said.

Gagnon said she is surprised that it isn’t already mandatory to have AEDs in all schools, because she said that when someone experiences a medical emergency, responding in the first few minutes is critical.

She said she hopes any staff members who work in a school will be trained, and added that standard CPR courses now include an AED training portion.

The Mikey Network, a charity based in Toronto that places AEDs in schools and other public places, is organizing a fundraising campaign in memory of Griffin Martin. Its website states that each AED costs $1,700, and that a complete AED kit with a cabinet, signage and child AED pads costs $2,005.

But, to ensure consistency, the board will work with Ottawa’s first responders and the purchasing of the devices will be done centrally by the OCDSB, said Hunter. The cost of the Zoll AED Plus in the McNabb Recreation Centre was about $2,156.