Public Access Defibrillator Program

A Public Access Defibrillator (AED) is a device that can help save someone experiencing sudden cardiac arrest. When AEDs are placed in public spaces and someone nearby knows how to use them, survival rates improve dramatically. Nearly 400 AEDs are in service across Cornwall and the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry United Counties.

Learn CPR and AED use

You can contact a recognized provider to take a first aid course near you and learn CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) and how to use an AED. You can also watch a Zoll AED demonstration video to learn more. Under Ontario's Good Samaritan Act, people who try to help in an emergency are protected from civil liability.

How it works

When someone goes into sudden cardiac arrest, their heart stops pumping blood effectively. An AED can deliver an electric shock to help restore a normal heart rhythm, but only if it detects a shockable rhythm. Using an AED together with CPR within the first five minutes of collapse can increase survival chances by 30 to 70 percent.