Cardiac response notes outlined by MLA Rice in Legislature

North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice hailed the work of
Emergency Service Dispatchers and 911 operators on Thursday

With this week set aside to honour the work of Emergency Service Dispatchers and 911 operators, North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice offered up a short snapshot of the important work that they do in British Columbia, as well as to highlight a new mobile app that has been launched by BC emergency health services that will assist British Columbians in lending assistance to someone suffering a cardiac arrest.

Speaking in the Thursday morning session of the Legislature,  Ms. Rice took note of the proclamation for Emergency Service operators and how they work with those on the other end of a telephone call to lend assistance to those who require assistance.


Today I wish to speak about two very important proclamations made this week. The first one declares this week as Emergency Service Dispatchers and 911 Awareness Week. The second declares today as AED Awareness Day. It's no coincidence that these two proclamations are made at the same time. Our emergency medical dispatchers are vital lifelines. 

They will help instruct bystanders on how to perform CPR. They will direct them to the nearest registered AED and provide instructions on how to use these life-saving devices. Bystanders play a critical role in the survival of someone having cardiac arrest. Unfortunately, while 81 percent of Canadians say they would perform CPR if they saw someone collapse, in actuality, British Columbian bystanders only follow through 25 percent of the time. 

 PulsePoint might help boost those numbers. PulsePoint is an app that was recently launched by B.C. emergency health services. It crowdsources CPR and AED use so that the closest available person trained in these life-saving skills is notified and can attend to someone having cardiac arrest before first responders arrive.

You can find out more details about the Pulse Point program here

You can also download the app here.

The transcript of her presentation to the Legislature can be reviewed here, starting just before the 10:20 mark.

The North Coast MLA's update for the Legislature can be found from the Legislature Video below:



For more items of note related to the work of Ms. Rice in the Legislature see our archive page here.

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