The city of Vancouver has recently approved a motion that supports St. John Ambulance’s mission to place 1000 publicly accessible AED stands through their Start Me Up BC program.

Start Me Up BC is a program that aims to fill the gap when it comes to the accessibility of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and first aid supplies. The program sets out to place its AED stands in high-traffic areas such as parks, beaches, transit hubs, tourist spots and more. Each stand comes with an AED, a naloxone kit and a first aid kit for bystanders to easily use during sudden cardiac arrests, overdoses and any other injuries and emergencies.

“Sudden cardiac arrest affects up to 6,000 British Columbians each year and 80 percent of the time, this emergency occurs in public. This means that survival greatly lies on everyday citizens responding with CPR and an AED while waiting for ambulance service,” said Ken Leggatt, COO for St. John Ambulance BC & Yukon. “And as we’ve all seen, the opioid crisis has continued to show devastating impacts, with over 2,200 lives lost last year, so we knew we had to incorporate naloxone to the stands to give bystanders the chance to make a difference.”

Start Me Up BC launched in early 2021 with the installation of a stand at Crescent Beach in Surrey. Today, St. John Ambulance has now placed 14 stands, with locations including Vancouver, Richmond, Burnaby, Chilliwack, and more.

After a motion was recently put forward by councillor Pete Fry, the city of Vancouver has shown support for more publicly accessible AEDs and Start Me Up BC and will work to find opportunities in the region for placement of the stands.

“After learning about Start Me Up BC, I was really motivated to push for policies that could support more publicly accessible lifesaving interventions in our city. St. John Ambulance’s stands that combine AEDs, naloxone and first aid supplies will provide these critical lifesaving interventions for our residents and visitors during crisis situations where every minute counts,” said Fry. “The unanimous council support for this program came after compelling support from our first responders and a heartbreaking and very personal account from one of our council colleagues who had lost a parent to sudden cardiac arrest.”

Vancouver currently has 75 AEDs across the city, many inside buildings with set hours. Start Me Up BC’s stands are temperature-controlled and weather-resistant, so they can be placed outside or inside and are available 24/7. To protect the stands from theft, an alarm is set for whenever the cabinet is opened, a camera takes a photo of the person accessing it and a St. John Ambulance staff member is alerted by phone call.
 

“We have high hopes about this program and believe it will make a positive impact when it comes to the willingness of bystanders to respond during emergencies. AEDs, naloxone and first aid have saved so many lives, these stands will help save many more. We are very grateful to the city of Vancouver for their support and are excited to see what comes next,” said Ty Speer, CEO of St. John Ambulance BC & Yukon.

To learn more about Start Me Up BC or to help place a stand, contact leanne.strachan@sja.ca. This program aims to highlight the importance of the bystander in first aid emergencies. St. John Ambulance encourages everyone to get CPR and AED trained so they are more confident and willing to help those in need. Register for training at sja.ca/first-aid-training and shop first aid supplies at shopsafetyproducts.ca.