Helping save a life inspires N.S. nurse to push for more defibrillators in rural community

Eastern Shore nurse PamJoseyrecalls a day last December when she was driving home from her clinicand noticed a man lying on the ground receiving CPR at a Sheet Harbour, N.S., gas station.

Joseystopped to help and took turns performing the life-saving procedure while waiting for first responders to arrive, all the while vexed by the lack of first aid equipment on site.

"I was so frustrated that there was nothing to work with," saidJosey, who spent a decade teaching CPR in a hospital. "There was no support. It felt like an eternity."

The man survived, andJoseystarted writing to politicians, health officials and the local chamber of commerce, expressing the need for automated externaldefibrillators (AEDs) inher rural community.

This year, three of the devices, which can beused in conjunction with CPR to restore a normal heartbeat,were donated by Emergency Health Services (EHS) for the Sheet Harbour area.Alocal electrician donated histime and supplies to install thedevices, which are accessible to the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Joseyis among the Nova Scotians who've successfully pushed for the devicesto be installed and accessiblein every corner of the province. The number of registered AEDsshown onan online maphas increasedfrom fewer than 700 to approximately 2,200 in the past five years.

'Big success'

"That was a big success in terms of a reactive approach," said paramedic Mike Janczyszyn,who co-ordinatesEHS'sautomated external defibrillator registry.

"It is a little bit different in terms of rural areas because you're trying to really maximize and optimize an AED's location."

In 2017, aCBCNews investigation found there waslittle public information about how many AEDs there wereor where they were located. But that has changed, and an EHS communications officer can now direct a caller to a nearby AED in an emergency and explain how to use it and perform CPR.

EHSsaid it's constantly installing the devices, with help from Nova Scotianswho see the need for an AED somewhere and report it.

"We want the community to help out with the sudden cardiac arrest survival rates,"saidJanczyszyn.

"There's not a fine science in terms of where the next cardiac arrest is gonna happen," he said.

Accessibility key

Scouts leader James Williams, who lives in Dartmouth, has his troop's defibrillator onthe provincial map. The device is storedin his home.

He said the defibrillator was once used to help someone in his neighbourhood.

"It's the scouting motto," said Williams. "Make it available to the neighborhood if at all necessary. And it was."

Also a first aid instructor, Williams now encourages businesses to install the devices outdoors where they can be accessible at all hours.

Meanwhile,Joseyis thankful to see some action in her rural community, something she credits to the support of the Sheet Harbour and Area Chamber of Commerce. She said there is more work to do in order to help save lives along the Eastern Shore.

"I'm really proud of the results that have happened," she said. "It's only the beginning."