SASKATOON--A man’s life was saved in Saskatoon thanks to an automated external defibrillator on-site at a local hockey rink.
According to MD Ambulance, paramedics responded Sunday around 11:20 a.m. to the Agri-Twins Arena, where a 58-year-old man collapsed while playing hockey. The staff at the arena called 911 and then, with the help of a licensed practical nurse who happened to be in the building, defibrillated the man. When paramedics arrived, the 58 year old was breathing on his own. He was taken by ambulance to Royal University Hospital in stable condition.
“This was a complete team effort and a perfect example of how the chain of survival in cardiac arrests works,” said MD Ambulance spokesperson Troy Davies in a statement. “From the players recognizing the patient in cardiac arrest, calling 911, MD Ambulance dispatchers talking them through CPR, the rink staff grabbing the AED and shocking the patient, and finally paramedics stabilizing the patient en route to hospital – if one of those links drops, this patient would not have survived.”
According to Davies, Agri-Twins and Jemini were among the first rinks to purchase AEDs. In addition to the 58-year-old man, a 34-year-old man and 43-year-old man have also been saved thanks to the AEDs in the rinks.
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