Donations made to Grey Bruce Health Services has allowed the hospital organization to purchase 35 new defibrillators.
A release notes the new equipment will be used at all six of the GBHS hospitals and equaled over $700,000, which was gathered by the foundations.
The transportable units will be used on the patients who are in transfer to another hospital, where according to the GBHS, is critical for the rural regions as patients in critical situations may need to be brought to a larger care centre in case of an emergency.
Capable of showing staff a patient’s heart rate and saving a life, the units apply electricity to a person’s heart during a cardiac arrest, essentially restarting the heart.
Chief of Emergency Medicine at the GBHS Owen Sound Hospital Sunil Mehta says every year across the GBHS region, there are about 125 Code Blues, which indicate if someone is experiencing a potentially fatal heart issue.
“The defibrillators are a critical piece of equipment used to save people’s lives every day,” says Mehta.
Also capable of acting an a temporary pacemaker, it allows for a patients heart to keep going until they are brought to another hospital or into surgery, and can also correct arrhythmia, an irregular heartbeat.
GBHS President and CEO Gary Sims says, “We are very grateful to the foundations for making this equipment a priority, and to the donors ho supported this vital fundraising initiative.”
