Near tragedy in Brodhagen highlights need for AED

Defibrillator brought out for collapsed man April 22

Posted By Rita Marshall Mitchell Advocate

When a 69-year-old man collapsed at a Brodhagen Community Centre dinner April 22, he was lucky in three ways.

First, several other dinner-goers, including respiratory therapist RRT Dan McPhee, RN Mary Anne Lealess and RN Louis Sanders, were health-care professionals and acted quickly. The three and concerned bystanders acted together, performing CPR, calling an ambulance and when the man regained consciousness, monitoring him closely until EMS arrived.

Secondly, the event was a priest appreciation dinner, and religious comfort was at hand for the man, who had no vital signs at one point.

The third bit of fortune for the man was the Brodhagen Community Centre's Automatic External Defibrillator (AED), a piece of equipment that wasn't used, but was brought out and set up during the incident.

While the AED wasn't a major factor in the events of April 22, the incident illustrates the life-saving role the machines can play when the unexpected happens.

"It can happen to anyone at any time," said Sanders, adding that having an AED is a "tremendous importance" to a facility.

McPhee agrees.

"The benefit to having the AED nearby was that it was brought to us right away and was set up within recommended timelines (first shock should be delivered within four minutes)," he wrote in an email.

"Every second counts. According to statistics, survival decreases by 7-10 per cent each minute without defibrillation. At training, we are also told that only one in 20 survive a cardiac arrest without defibrillation."

McPhee added that although the man was revived quickly, the AED pads were kept on him since another incident could have occurred before the ambulance arrived.

Sanders said that although professionals handled the AED in this case, the unit can be easily used by anyone.

"It is completely simple," he said. "Anyone call pull that down, open it up and find out how to use it."

Sanders added that people shouldn't be afraid of accidentally hurting someone with the unit, since the unit itself decides whether a shock needs to be administered.

"It cannot give anyone a shock that's not in a shockable rhythm," he said. "It decides whether there's actually fibrillation of the heart muscle."

McPhee said that even so, general training in CPR and defibrillator use is becoming more common.

One group that will receive AED training is the Brodhagen Chamber of Commerce, which oversees the Community Centre. Mary Van Bakel said that the Chamber has decided on a few changes in the wake of the April 22 incident, including having an AED demonstration for the group.

To combat the panic and second-guessing that can arise when someone is giving an address to EMS, the group also plans to have the 911# for the Centre mounted on the front door and on the AED itself.

The Brodhagen Community Centre received its AED in 2009, when it first opened. AEDs are also located in the Mitchell Arena, Dublin Hall, the West Perth Public Library and the municipal office. There will also be one at the Lions Pool this summer.

The Mitchell man who collapsed, Kees Monden, is doing well although he spent a few days in hospital afterwards.