Cayman Heart Fund donates AEDs to police
(L-R) Colleen Dahlstrom and David Dinner (holding a donated AED) of the Cayman Heart Fund with Acting Police Commissioner Anthony Ennis
(CNS): The RCIPS is distributing 20 automated external defibrillators (AEDs) donated by the Cayman Heart Fund among police stations, its detention centre, and other locations, as well as certain response vehicles. These devices interrupt life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias through electric therapy, and are credited with saving countless lives. The plan is to provide front-line officers with the best and quickest accessibility possible to the new devices. The AEDs will be in place at police stations on the Sister Islands later this month.
In an RCIPS press release, Acting Police Commissioner Anthony Ennis spoke of the importance of having access to the AEDs. “One of the primary duties of a police officer is to protect and save lives; therefore, these generous donations by the Cayman Heart Fund will add to the tools available to our first responders to render critical first aid to a victim experiencing a cardiac condition,” he said. “Likewise, the life we save might be our own, as police officers work under very stressful and difficult circumstances.
“These devices have also been placed throughout our police estates and are readily available if needed. Civilian staff as well as police is receiving training in first aid, CPR and AED.”
Often officers arrive at the scene of a critical incident before the ambulance, and in some instances, such as the case of a man in North Side last year who collapsed in his home, they have managed to resuscitate victims through sustained CPR. Although first aid and CPR training enables officers to respond effectively to incidents like these, the increased availability of AEDs provides them with a powerful tool to save more lives.
Cayman Heart Fund chairman David Dinner said, “In order to increase the ability of first responders to react to a cardiac event, they must have the ability to use an AED right away, generally within the first three minutes.
“Our objective is to make this a safer country, with the most AEDs per capita of anywhere in the region. As more and more people visit the islands, many of whom are older, the presence of AEDs everywhere – in bars, restaurants, even along the beach – will make the critical difference for scores of people.
We have started with first responders, but our goal is for everyone to know where an AED is and how to use it.”
The Cayman Heart Fund has already donated AEDs to 11 public schools. In 2012, the organisation donated five AEDs to the RCIPS.
For more information on the AED programme, go to the Cayman Heart Fund website
Category: Medical and Health, Police
