Thanks to assistance from Clearview Public Schools, the volunteer group Smile Like Emily has placed a third Automated External Defibrillator (AED) in Castor.
The third AED has been placed on a freestanding mount connected to power just outside of the main doors of Gus Wetter School.
Previously, AEDs were placed at the Elks Shed near the Castor ball diamonds and on the corner of the Town of Castor administrative building in the green space between the building and the library.
SEE ALSO: Castor now has public-access defibrillators in place
An AED is a portable device consisting of electronics, a battery pack and electrodes designed to attach to the skin of someone in cardiac distress.
Many times when someone enters cardiac arrest, instead of entering a true arrest with no cardiac activity a person’s heart will enter fibrillation — think a quivering bowl of Jello — causing it to no longer pump effectively.
The AED will provide a shock, in theory re-setting the heart’s internal pacemaker and re-establishing the regular rhythm.
According to statistics released by the Heart and Stroke of Canada, AEDs can improve survival chances by up to 75 per cent if applied quickly.
An axiom regarding cardiac arrest in health care circles is “Time is brain.”
When a person suffers a cardiac event, the loss of oxygenated blow flow to the brain can begin having a negative impact, including cellular death, in as little as four to six minutes; the sooner the AED can be applied the greater the likelihood of survival.
To make things as easy as possible, the devices are designed to talk a user through cardiopulmonary circulation (CPR) and application of the device.
After the death of her daughter, Smile Like Emily founder Leanne Lougheed crowd-funded, held fundraisers, and received grants raising over $30,000 to purchase four of the lifesaving devices for the community.
Designed and built by a Canadian manufacturer, the devices are designed to withstand the harsh weather in Alberta.
With three of the devices placed, the location for the final AED is yet to be determined.
-With files from the Castor Advance
The public-access defibrillators in Castor have been placed in the community by Smile like Emily, driven by Leanne Lougheed. (Kevin Sabo/Castor Advance)
