P.E.I. medical students start group to get automated external defibrillator in public places outdoors

ARGYLE SHORE, P.E.I. — A former advanced care paramedic in P.E.I. has just led the way to making the first fully accessible AED to the public 24-7 in an outdoor setting.

The automated external defibrillator (AED) is mounted to the outside of the Argyle Shore Community Centre.

Nate Visser, now a P.E.I. medical student, has founded Minutes for Life to make this happen across the province, but it is costly, with each unit coming in at just under $1,000.

“This is a 24-7 accessible automated external defibrillator which is a sudden tool when someone experiences a sudden cardiac arrest,” Visser told The Guardian in an interview at the community centre on Oct. 20. “It’s easy to use. You don’t have to have special training or be a health-care provider. You just need to turn it on and follow the prompts.”

As a former member of Island EMS and currently a volunteer with the Crapaud fire department, Visser said he has used one many times and knows all too well how one of the devices can result in a positive outcome.

Visser said there are AEDs already available inside many public community buildings, arenas and schools. The problem is all of those buildings close every day and once they are shut down those AEDs are no longer available to the public.

Island EMS donated the first device to the Argyle Shore Community Centre as part of its 20th anniversary celebrations because there is an effort to concentrate on rural buildings.

Visser said there is another reason the centre was selected as the first spot.

“Since Argyle Shore is in my volunteer fire department’s coverage area, I thought it would be great to have an AED in this community,” said Visser. “I’ve seen what other provinces have done in transitioning them to the outside so I thought, ‘Let’s see if we can do that as well’.”

It was the fire department that donated the Save Station, the cabinet that the AED sits in. The Save Station is temperature controlled. It is heated in the wintertime and has a fan in it to cool it during the summer months.

Since the device is located outside and accessible to the public 24-7, Visser said the group is well aware that theft is an issue.

“Ultimately, these are risks that come with putting any piece of equipment outside or in a public space and we recognize that barrier and we need to overcome those barriers in order to provide them to those who need it,” Visser said, adding that the device is outfitted with an alarm that sounds if the cabinet is opened.

He said the device has also been outfitted with a tracker that municipal police and RCMP can follow.

Visser said the device is partially funded by the Department of Justice and Public Safety and Department of Health and Wellness.

Dan MacDonald, who co-founded Minutes for Life, said it is important that more of these devices are made available to the public around the clock.

“Having seen these things first-hand be available when someone has a cardiac arrest, evidence has shown that time and time again, that immediate and fast shock from an AED produces a good outcome for a person who has a better chance of survival in walking out of the hospital,” said MacDonald, also a former advanced care paramedic with Island EMS and a volunteer with the O’Leary fire department.

Visser said Minutes for Life also offers education sessions to communities that put these devices in place, teaching people how the Save Station and AED works.

Visit online or on social to learn how to place a SaveStation in a community, call 902-393-1625 or email minutesforlife.pei@gmail.com.

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Dave Stewart is a reporter for The Guardian in Prince Edward Island. He can be reached at dstewart@postmedia.com and followed on X at @DveStewart.