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Down, But Not Out
Five town employees weren’t really taking a rest while at work recently—they were showing off five new defibrillators that will soon be installed in local facilities. Chris Brunker of Zoll Medical Canada Inc. (kneeling) brought the emergency devices to town recently. Top centre (and moving clockwise) is Terry Hurlbut, Marlene Pope, Dan Stuckky, Roseann Buck and Debra Harlow. Story in this paper. ©Provost News Photo.
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5 Modern Defibrillators to be
Installed in Town Facilities
The Town of Provost has acquired five modern and compact defibrillators that it will put in the arena, swimming pool, Legion Hall, town office and Prairie Hall.
The medical devices are designed to give an electric shock which may re-set the rhythm of someone’s heart in an emergency.
Batteries last up to four years says Chris Brunker of Zoll Medical Canada Inc. who is also a paramedic and firefighter at Leduc. The units he points out, include a graphical interface—pictures combined with text as well as automatic voice prompts to help infrequent rescuers in an emergency (cardiac arrest of someone).
The lights on the pictures draw the rescuer’s attention to the proper sequence of aid to use. The pictures and voice prompts (for example: “Push harder” or “Good compressions”) during CPR help assure that rescue efforts and shocks—if required are done efficiently.
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The units provide a self-test at least one a week to indicate if the unit is in working condition. When a unit requires new batteries it sounds an alarm and a visual icon is also displayed.
Each unit cost $2,800 each.
Safety officer for the Town of Provost, Dan Stuckky arranged to have the units brought in. He said that STARS (Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society) contributed $9,500 towards the purchase. STARS is dedicated to providing a safe, rapid, highly specialized emergency medical transport system for the critically ill and injured.
Stuckky and Pat Perkins of the Provost Ambulance Society plan to train others in the use of the new defibrillators but they will be made accessible in the public places in town so that others can use them if needed.
The Provost Ambulance is equipped with more advanced equipment.
Zoll Medical Canada Inc. however who sells the third generation “full rescue AED” states that their unit is a “full-rescue” device that “defibrillates, provides feedback to help with effective CPR, and supports the full chain of survival.”
Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) occurs when the lower chambers of the heart (the ventricles) suddenly stop beating normally and develop what is called ventricular fibrillation (VF). VF is a chaotic heart rhythm where the heart muscle begins quivering which prevents the heart from effectively pumping blood. If this condition is not corrected immediately; death will follow within five to 10 minutes.
A defibrillator is the only known device/technique that stops the chaotic electrical heart activity and allows the heart to re-pace itself to a normal rhythm.
The new Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) now bring defibrillator technology to the pubic and allow immediate access.
Rest of story in December 27 edition of The Provost News.
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Wheat Board, Marketing Discussed at Public Meeting
Full story in December 27 edition of The Provost News.
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Case of Chronic Wasting Disease Found in Edgerton, Chauvin Deer
Full story in December 27 edition of The Provost News.
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Street Spokesman
This week we ask : "What Do You Hope For in the New Year?"
. . . and we heard opinions from Bruce Hilker, Joanne Goulet, Ivan Buck, Janet Perry, and Pete Cote.
Check out the December 27 edition of The Provost News for their answers.
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