On Feb. 27, Rotary Club of the Sunshine Coast members Laurean and Cameron Reid presented an AED to Chief Warren Paull (right) and safety coordinator Lori Winje (second from left) of the Sechelt First Nation. This is the first of 20 AEDs to be distributed by the Rotary Club along BC's Sunshine Coast.
The Rotary Club of the Sunshine Coast is working hard to make the Sunshine Coast a safer place to live and play.
A major step toward that goal was taken on Feb. 27 when Rotary club members Laurean and Cameron Reid presented the first of 20 AEDs to the Sechelt Nation.
Chief Warren Paull was delighted to accept the delivery. He knows the importance of having the devices close at hand.
“I remember when the [LeHigh] gravel pit installed its first AED,” he said. “Just three days later, someone visiting the pit had a heart attack.” Had the machine not been readily available, the person very well could have died. “There was definitely some Kismet going on there,” he said.
Chief Paull and Lori Winje, safety coordinator for the Sechelt Nation, decided to place the AED near the gazebo behind the Sechelt Nation office. “All of our elders go through there. That’s where it will do the most good,” Paull said.
It was the first of 20 AEDs the Rotary club is providing to organizations all along the Sunshine Coast, with the goal that most of them be installed outdoors.
“If a person is having heart failure, there is just a five-minute window to re-start their heart and save their life,” said Laurean, who is spearheading the AED project.
The Rotary Club is working with the Sunshine Coast Regional District and other organizations to have AEDs installed at trailheads, playgrounds and other accessible outdoor locations where people gather for recreation.