New subsidy aimed at getting life-saving AEDs into N.B. businesses
CBC
A defibrillator can save a life, but the purchase price can be a barrier to some businesses having the devices on site, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of New Brunswick says.
An AED, short for automated external defibrillator, is a portable device that can be used to administer an electric shock to the heart for someone experiencing cardiac arrest.
Beverly Furrow, the director of health promotion programs for the organization, said an AED can cost from about $1,500 to about $3,000.
"Then on top of that, a lot of people also want to purchase things like wall cabinets, signage, accessory kits that go with the AED as well so that they're visible and ready to use when an emergency happens," Furrow said.
"So those also have a price tag associated with them, too, making them not extremely affordable for small businesses or the average organization in New Brunswick."
Now the Heart and Stroke Foundation is hoping to make AEDs and accessories more accessible by offering a subsidy for businesses, funded in part by the provincial Department of Health, for AED purchases.
Furrow said roughly 1,200 cardiac arrests happen yearly in New Brunswick, but having a bystander react with an AED within the first few minutes of cardiac arrest is the person's best shot at survival.
She said there is currently a program, run by Medavie Health Services, that connects AEDs registered with the program to 911 dispatchers so callers can be told where the closest AED is located. Having the AED registered with that program is one of the requirements for getting the subsidy.
The other requirements are that the defibrillator must be Health Canada regulated, be maintained in accordance with manufacturer guidelines, and have been purchased within 12 months prior to applying.
The program will cover 75 per cent, up to $3,500, of the AED, the wall cabinet, any signage or accessories to go with it, maintenance costs and registration for the Medavie program.
Furrow said there is no firm deadline for the subsidy, but it will be offered in four cycles with the deadline for the first cycle being Oct. 15.
She said the program will also cover the training for individuals to learn how to use an AED.
But she said it is important to know that an AED does not require training to use.
She said the devices are very easy to use and after someone turns on the power button, the device will give step-by-step instructions and voice prompts for how to use it.
More than five kilometres of the Gardiner Expressway suffer from severe congestion that doubles travel times in Toronto during rush hour periods.
A candidate for leadership of the Manitoba Progressive Conservatives says there are books describing bestiality and incest in school libraries.
The Saskatchewan Cancer Agency (SCA) says it is working to ensure women in the province have access to breast cancer screening and biopsies in as timely a manner as possible, but some patients say the system isn't working fast enough.
The City of Edmonton is developing a wildfire strategy to mitigate risks within the municipality and help neighbouring regions, the city's emergency advisory committee heard Wednesday.
About 20 workers, students and local MPP candidates gathered outside Hamilton's Mohawk College Wednesday — where a fifth of full-time jobs have been cut since December — to call on the province to better fund post-secondary education.
In a busy race to Queen's Park, nine candidates are vying for the Sarnia—Lambton seat — a riding that's been conservative for nearly 20 years.
There's just over a year left in the Canada-Alberta child-care agreement and it's shaping up to be a rocky one for some parents, who — for this first time in the history of the agreement — will see their fees increase as a new phase of the program rolls out.
B.C. MLA Adrian Dix says he gets texts, emails, and even stopped at his local Safeway. He says people urge him to cut off power or even water to the U.S.
B.C. cities, in general, would be among the least vulnerable in Canada if U.S. President Donald Trump follows through on tariff threats, according to new data from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
Here's where and when you can vote in advance polls in Waterloo region, Guelph and Wellington County
Voting day is Feb. 27 in the Ontario election, but people can cast their ballots this week in advance polls.
Staff with Summerside Electric say they're not getting many updates from Maritime Electric after a failure at the utility's Sherbrooke substation over a week ago caused strain on the city's electrical grid.
The N.W.T.'s public utilities board has ordered the Northwest Territories Power Corporation (NTPC) to start paying Naka Power $48,500 per month to use a transmission line in the Hay River area, starting March 1.
Ideologically motivated violent extremist groups are using antisemitism in a bid to recruit followers and inspire violence, according to a report from Canada's spy agency.