St. John Ambulance BC & Yukon has a goal of placing 1000 publicly accessible Community Defibrillators across the province. We will be placed in a variety of different high-traffic areas, which will allow communities to learn about AEDs, further understand the risk of sudden cardiac arrest, and most importantly, be able to use an AED quickly to possibly save the life of a family member, friend, or stranger.
Nearly 40,000 Canadians die from a sudden cardiac arrest each year, with up to 6,000 of these being British Columbians. In the event of sudden cardiac arrest, bystander use of an automated external defibrillator (AED), along with CPR, is crucial and increases the chance of survival of 75% or higher. Despite this, AEDs in BC aren’t always readily available.
Through St. John Ambulance BC & Yukon’s Start Me Up BC campaign, the charity will increase awareness and accessibility to AEDs as well as first aid and naloxone through our one-of-a-kind community defibrillator stands. These stands will be placed in a variety of different environments and locations such as provincial parks, city beaches, outside workplaces, transit hubs, tourist hot spots, and more.
