Public Access Defibrillator Program
Public Access Defibrillation (PAD) involves placing an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) where people might need them, so that a casualty of Sudden Cardiac Arrest does not have to wait for Paramedics to arrive.
For general inquiries regarding the PAD Program, please contact pad@cornwall.ca.
| Overview of PAD Program |
 If AEDs are placed where someone might have a Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA), and you know that someone nearby is trained to use the AED, the survival rates from Sudden Cardiac Arrest improve enormously.
The City of Cornwall and the SDG Counties started the initiative for the PAD Program in 2004 with 38 AEDs distributed in the community. Since then, additional AEDs have been placed in the community with the support of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario, the Ontario Trillium Foundation, Frank Cowen Foundation and other donors. A total of 68 AEDs have been donated to the community by these contributors in 2008 and 2009 along with an additional 83 AEDs in 2012 and 9 in 2013. Training in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and the use of a Automated External Defibrillator has been included with many of these placements. The Public Access Defibrillator Program administers these Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) and assists community partners with additional AEDs that are located throughout the community. The Public Access Defibrillator Program has almost 400 AEDs in service in Cornwall and the United Counties of SDG. AEDs and CPR Save Lives!An Automated External Defibrillator (AED) introduces an electric impulse to the heart when it has stopped functioning correctly and when the device determines an electric impulse will potentially correct the heart function of a person in Sudden Cardiac Arrest. The use of an AED combined with Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) can increase survival during Sudden Cardiac Arrest by 30 - 70 % when used within 5 minutes of collapse. Contact a recognized provider for a First Aid Course near you and learn Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and the safe use of an Automated External Defibrillators. These skills can help save lives.
For a Zoll AED demonstration, please view: https://youtu.be/Yklg3xh1tck |
| Using an AED in an emergency - The Good Samaritan Act |
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In Ontario, there are two pieces of legislation which protects members of the public from civil liability. They are the Good Samaritan Act, 2001 and the Health Systems Improvement Act, Schedule N on Page 132 and 133 (Chase McEachern Act, Heart Defibrillator Civil Liability, 2007). The Good Samaritan Act provides protection from civil liability when a person attempts to provide aid to another person during an emergency. The Health Systems Improvement Act, Schedule N on Page 132 and 133 provides protection from civil liability to a person or organization that attempts to provide aid with a Automated External Defibrillator to another person during an emergency. To read the Cornwall SDG Paramedic Services Public Access Defibrillator Policy and Procedure manual click on PAD Policy and Procedure Manual. |
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