Quebec will soon have 1,000 defibrillators available in public spaces. Here's why that matters
CBC
The Quebec government is spending $2 million to purchase 900 new automated external defibrillators (AEDs) that will be installed in key public spaces across the province over the next three years.
The project, done in partnership with the Jacques-de-Champlain Foundation, follows a brief pilot project in February that saw the installation of 100 AEDs near ATMs in several banking institutions.
An AED is used to deliver an electric shock to the heart that jolts it back into action or back into a normal rhythm.
Health Minister Christian Dubé says the sooner the device can be used, the better the chances of survival.
"In the event of cardiac arrest, the first few minutes are crucial," he said in a Monday release announcing the government grant.
WATCH | How to use a public defibrillator:
Jean-Philippe LaRose, a Montreal father of three and a researcher for Radio-Canada's television satirical show Infoman, says he's living proof that AEDs save lives.
He was only 37 when he went into sudden cardiac arrest while playing hockey — a sport he'd played almost every week since he was 15.
"About 15 minutes before the end of game, I felt dizzy and I just fell on the ground," he said of the 2017 incident.
LaRose says what came next is a "big black hole" in his memory.
Later, he'd learn he'd been clinically dead for seven minutes before one of his friends managed to bring back his pulse with the use of CPR and an AED — one that had been installed in the gym just two months prior to the incident.
"It's the AED that saved my life," he said.
Now, almost six years later, LaRose can't enter a crowded space, such as a restaurant, without noting whether it has an AED. He says Quebec needs more of them in these types of places, including grocery stores.
"It's really simple to use it and when you know how to use it, you [can] save lives really quickly," he said.