The Lady Minto Hospital Foundation in partnership with Salt Spring Fire/Rescue spearheaded the AED Campaign in January 2012 and to date, there are some 42 AEDs installed on Salt Spring Island.  

If you wish to learn more about AEDs or want to be trained in CPR & AED use, here are the programs available on Salt Spring Island.

CRD Salt Spring Island visit www.ssiparc.ca

Salt Spring Adventure Company visit www.saltspringadventures.com

The late Beth Weston was deeply involved in the AED program at Lady Minto Hospital and was for years the certified Red Cross Trainer.  Beth felt passionately about the effectiveness of AEDs and before her passing she spoke with Foundation Chair Derek Fry, about the need for AEDs in our community:

“Ordinary lay people need to know how to use an AED and my quest for training led me to the Lady Minto Hospital Foundation.  As I spoke to Foundation  President Derek Fry, I sensed his frustration with the issues around training.  The Foundation was eager to follow Dr. Barclay’s suggestions and get AEDs into the community but simply hanging them on walls around Salt Spring Island without teaching people how to use them was not going to be effective.  People were afraid of this new addition to CPR.  They were curious but at arm’s length.  I wanted to dispel the myths I had heard about AED units.  I wanted as many people as possible to know how to use an AED and I wanted people to know how effective an AED can be and how it can truly save lives.”

“Over the years in my career as a nurse, I had taught CPR (Cardiac Pulmonary Resuscitation) to various groups and individuals.  But I knew that even if someone did CPR perfectly, many victims of sudden cardiac arrest did not survive.  It was always very sad to talk to the lay responder whose victim had died.  It was an event that the responder would never forget.    Now we have the AED which is dramatically increasing the success of CPR.”

“At Chicago’s O’Hara Airport, the authorities were concerned about the high incidence of sudden cardiac arrest and resulting deaths.  Only 3 to 5% of those who received timely CPR recovered.  Then they put an AED within reach every 45 seconds throughout the airport.  This means that one cannot walk for more than 45 seconds without passing an AED.  They ran training programs for all levels of staff.  Now more than 60% suffering a sudden cardiac arrest recover.  Some of the events have been carried out by those without AED training proving jut how easy it is to use an AED.”

“How can the residents of Salt Spring Island reduce the deaths from sudden cardiac arrest?   I believe there is a role for everyone in the community to help.  People need to learn what an AED unit looks like and how it is used.  They need to know where the AESs are located.  People need to take action to get more AEDs into the community.  And finally, people need to get the training to feel comfortable using the AED should the need arise.”

An AED is designed to deliver an electric charge to a subject after the onset of a sudden cardiac arrest.  There is step by step automated voice instructions built into the unit and almost anyone can use an AED.

AED Locations on Salt Spring Island