Pearson purchases defibrillators

In effort to be prepared for a medical emergency, the Lester B. Pearson School Board is investing $103,000 in 60 Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs).

The portable AEDs, self-contained machines that can shock the heart back into rhythm when someone goes into cardiac arrest, will be available in every one of Pearson’s facilities by next fall.

“Our buildings are used more and more by the community than just our school population,” said Pearson chairman Marcus Tabachnick, adding AEDs will make sure the board’s schools will be better prepared to respond to emergencies. He recalled the story from early last year about a dentist who was saved by people using an AED at the Pointe Claire aquatic centre after he collapsed while using the pool.

Retired Pierrefonds teacher Chris Eustace, an education watchdog with grandchildren in the public system, said he has suggested for a couple of years the Pearson board acquire AEDs, following the lead of some school boards in other Canadian jurisdictions. “I’m very pleased the board has done this,” he said, adding the Quebec government should come up with a funding program to make it a standard for all schools across the province. “It’s definitely money well spent.”

The defibrillators, which can be used on children, have automated voice instructions to guide a person using it and it can provide CPR coaching if required. “We wanted to have that so anybody can use them,” Tabachnick said. “It gives step-by-step instructions.”

A minimum of three people, however, will be trained at each Pearson facility to use the AEDs, he said.