Lifeline News Release ******************** On behalf of the Lifeline, Public Access Defibrillator Program, we pleased to report that a Lifeline Public Access Defibrillator was used on Monday March 24, 2008 to successfully resuscitate a male that coll
On behalf of the Lifeline, Public Access Defibrillator Program, we pleased to report that a Lifeline Public Access Defibrillator was used on Monday March 24, 2008 to successfully resuscitate a male that collapsed at the YMCA in North Bay.
YMCA staff and an off duty nurse from the North Bay General Hospital performed CPR and defibrillated the patient, using a Public Access Defibrillator installed at the facility. Paramedics and Firefighters arrived moments later and transported the patient, now conscious and talking, to the hospital by Ambulance.
Lifeline is an exciting and unique partnership between The North Bay Professional Paramedics Association and the District of Nipissing Social Services Administration Board.
The project, entitled "Lifeline - Every Minute is a Lifetime", places public access defibrillators (PADs) in community centres and high traffic areas in the Nipissing District. Since February 2005, 35 locations have been equipped under the Lifeline Project with the grateful assistance of several local sponsors, The Heart & Stroke Foundation of Ontario and the Heart and Stroke Chase McEachern Tribute Fund. Not only does the project place a PAD on the site, it also includes training the employees on it's use and DNSSAB and local EMS take care of long term maintenance of the units.
The installation of the PADs, purchased through a local company, HeartZAP Services Inc, includes a 2 stage alarm process. The PADs are mounted in a metal cabinet and when the cabinet door is opened, an audible alarm and red light are activated. The alarm is two fold, as it warns others that there is a medical emergency in the vicinity and it deters vandalism.
Once the PAD unit is removed from the case, a second alarm is activated at the True Steel alarm monitoring station and the Emergency Services are contacted immediately. The NBPPA still advises the public to call 911 in an emergency, which provides additional information to the responding emergency personnel including the exact location of the patient.
The Lifeline project is unique in that it is the first PAD project that relies solely on fundraising. Other PAD projects, such as those located in Ottawa, Toronto and Calgary, are city funded. The PAD at the YMCA is sponsored by the Kinsmen Club of North Bay.
