County Schools Equipped with AEDs, Thanks to Public Access Defibrillation Program

300th AED
Photo courtesy of The Barrie Examiner

December 10, 2010- At least one county in Ontario can say that all its students and staff are protected against sudden cardiac arrest. Every single public elementary and secondary school in Simcoe County is now equipped with an automated external defibrillator (AED), thanks to the school board's Public Access Defibrillator (PAD) Program. The installation of the 300th AED was celebrated at Sister Catherine Donnelly School in Barrie by the County of Simcoe, the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board and the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

The Simoce County District School Board and the County of Simcoe Paramedic Services, along with the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Chase McEachern Tribute Fund, all worked together to develop the PAD program, which is now being implemented in other districts. Local, province, state, and federal agencies provide AED grants to help communities set up PAD programs for schools, as well as workplaces, daycare facilities, and other public places.