AEDs to be Installed in All BC High Schools

Photo Credit: Francis Ferland/Radio-Canada

A lifesaving device has just been made mandatory in all secondary schools in BC: the Automated External Defibrillators (AED), used to restart the heart of someone in cardiac arrest. This change has been long-awaited by many staff and student advocates within the Vancouver School Board (VSB). The updated health-emergencies policy issued by the province will also include the incorporation of first aid training in the Grade 10 Physical Education curriculum, teaching students how to operate AEDs and how to perform CPR. Paired together, these interventions can double the survival chances of a person in cardiac arrest, according to the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

During cardiac arrest, every minute without CPR or an AED decreases the victim’s chance of surviving by about 10 per cent. Mr. J. Overgaard (Physical Health Education) explained that with CPR training and an AED nearby, “you're buying time for first responders, and those first few minutes are critical.”

AEDs are portable, computerized systems designed to detect uneven heart rhythms and send an electric shock to the heart if needed. They consist of electrode pads and an automated voice to guide a bystander through how to respond to a cardiac arrest. Cardiac arrest is a medical emergency that occurs when the heart stops pumping blood to the brain and other vital organs. It is often confused with heart attacks, which are less critical and occur when the heart is not getting enough blood. 

According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, only one in 10 people experiencing cardiac arrest out of hospital survive, and nearly half of these incidents happen to people under the age of 65.

AED advocates have been pushing for expanded access to AEDs in schools for many years. Among these groups is Students for AEDs, founded in 2023 by Point Grey Secondary student Tobias Zhang. Zhang was driven to create this group a year after his best friend died suddenly of cardiac arrest during grade 9 basketball tryouts. During the incident, students ran 600 metres to retrieve an AED, but were unfortunately unable to resuscitate Zhang’s friend. 

AEDs have already been implemented in Burnaby, West Vancouver, North Vancouver, and Richmond school districts. The defibrillators were also installed in all Surrey high schools in 2019, in response to a petition launched by a mother whose son was revived by an AED at a Surrey pool. 

Alternatively, the Vancouver School District followed the advice of the provincial health officer and Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, only adding AEDs in schools where students may need them, fewer than 10 out of 107 schools.

Two AEDs, which have a cost of around $1,900 to $2500 each, have been installed at Hamber. One is located near the front office, and the other is near the gymnasiums, both on the first floor. 

Mr. Overgaard would have hoped to have AEDs in Hamber sooner. “BC schools have had students save students, or teachers’ lives, or other adults' lives just by training that they've had and CPR, knowing how to use AEDs,” he said. “A teacher friend of mine and Mr. Millette teaches at South Delta and had a cardiac arrest on a professional day… his teacher colleagues got an AED and saved his life.” 

Hamber’s PHE Department was “ahead of the curve,” Mr. Overgaard remarked, as the Ministry’s new policy will not change the existing grade 10 CPR and AED curriculum at Hamber. Already, 20 years ago, PHE teachers started getting firefighters from the Vancouver Fire Department to come teach a unit on CPR and AEDs to students.

When the fire department was no longer able to provide the sessions, Hamber’s PHE department found another model for their unit, working with the ACT Foundation to train PHE teachers in the use of CPR and AEDs. Hamber’s PHE Department has now worked with the ACT Foundation for the past five years, and the Ontario-based company supplies the school with training AEDs and manikins for their unit.

Now, AED devices, along with naloxone kits that reverse overdoses, will be required in all B.C. high schools by December 2025. By 2026, both these items will also be mandatory in all elementary and middle schools in the province, but some BC schools are frustrated that this new provincial directive does not come with supporting funds. 

The VSB installed AEDs in all 107 of its schools this summer. Earlier this year, the District requested $250,000 to purchase the defibrillators and an additional $50,000 for maintenance costs, but the provincial government rejected their request. 

While supportive of putting the AEDs in Vancouver schools, Trustee Suzie Mah told The Vancouver Sun that she was disappointed about this rejection, as the school board dipped into its operating budget to finance the AEDs. She stated that the province needs to fund AEDs properly, and they need to provide training. 

Naloxone kits are being purchased at $35 each and can be expected in VSB secondary schools this fall, according to Mah. Unlike AEDs, naloxone training will not be provided in the school curriculum.