ELMSDALE: A partnership between two community organizations formed to honour loved ones gone too soon has led to an outdoor AED being installed in the heart of Elmsdale.
Outside Leno’s Stop Shop on Wednesday morning (April 17), approximately 15 people attended the installation of an outdoor cabinet and AED at the store located on Hwy 214 in Elmsdale (adjacent to the traffic lights with Hwy 2).
The AED will be housed in a heated, weather-proof SaveStation cabinet, and will be accessible to anyone who needs it 24/7.
It was made possible through a team effort by Suzanne Gilby from the Ritchie Gilby Memorial Society and Jeff and Angie Bannister of the Braeden Bannister Memorial Fund and the EHS AED Registry.
Braeden Bannister died in 2019 and Ritchie Gilby in 2022, both from cardiac-related events.
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Gilby said the two groups decided an outside accessible AED was important for residents.
“We felt it was important that residents of East Hants had access to an outside AED 24/7,” said Gilby.
“It’s a smart life saving device that is easy to use and will only help save a life , it can not hurt.
“It truly was a team effort from EHS , Leno and Steve Gaudet electrical.”
“The Bannisters and I are extremely grateful for the community support we receive to implement projects such as this.”
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Mike Janczyszyn, a paramedic, and Coordinator with the EHS AED Registry, said they are happy to have one placed where if people need it they can get it and act quickly.
“It’s really all about the three links of chain of survival- recognizing something is happening; calling 911; and doing CPR/using an AED, so having it accessible and available and increases the awareness of it being out there,” said Janczyszyn,
He said people also don’t need to be trained in them on how to use an AED.
“We encourage training, but they’re easy to use as they tell you what to do,” he said.
“We actually never want an AED to be used, but if something does happen we want that AED to be accessible.
“At the end of the day if an AED just sits there and doesn’t get used, that’s good because it means no one has gone into cardiac arrest,” said Janczyszyn. “But if that situation happens, we want people to be prepared.”
Janczyszyn said for Leno to allow the installation was a bonus.
“He’s been a supporter of this right from the start,” he said.
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The AED installation becomes one of several publicly accessible across the province installed since Oct. 2019. Others are in Halifax, Berwick, Baddeck, Lunenburg, Sydney, Bedford, and Kentville.
This is the latest in several public access AEDs installed across the province since October 2019, including in Halifax, Sydney, Berwick, Lunenburg, Baddeck, Kentville, and Bedford.
With help from our partners, including The Jordan Boyd Foundation on previous donations, EHS AED Registry is working to create heart-safe communities across Nova Scotia.
For more on the EHS AED Registry, please visit : https://savelivesns.ca/
