The best of ideas are often the most obvious.
The trick of course is being the person who sees the obvious and acts upon it.
That is exactly what Staff Sgt. Jeff Simpson with the Yorkton Municipal RCMP has done.
Simpson was apparently having coffee one day with a friend, one who also happened to be an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician).
Somewhere in that conversation the subject of adding Automated External Defibrillators (AED) came up.
While that might not seem like the average coffee shop talk, in this case it was a fortuitous topic because it fostered the germ of an idea for Simpson. Looking at it from the perspective of hindsight it was a rather simple idea, why not have an AED unit in each police car, and officers trained in their use.
It was a great idea, but one that no one else, at least in Saskatchewan had come up with. Simpson said to his knowledge the Yorkton detachment is the first in this province to install AED units.
Of course, having an idea is only half the story. The idea has to become a reality to have an impact. In the case of AEDs in RCMP cars in the city, the impact could well be to save lives.
In an emergency the RCMP are often the first on the scene. If the emergency is heart distress, an AED unit can be the difference between recovery and death.
So Simpson took his simple idea, and ran with it.
Simpson said all regular RCMP members receive training in the operation of AEDs and are qualified to use the instruments during situations where CPR is required.
So the big step was finding funding for the units, $1,500 each.
As is often the case in our community, when a good idea needs some financing, someone will step up with the funding.
That has been the case in launching the program to have AED in RCMP cars.
Initially four units are being purchased thanks to funding from the City of Yorkton, Yorkton Business Improvement District, Yorkton Lions Club and Yorkton Dairy Queen.
Jason Greschuk, chair of YBID, summed up the view of the four funders succinctly.
“Hopefully it saves a life,” he said told Yorkton This Week at a press conference last week (see related story Page A1), adding it was seen as a good way for the group’s members to support a good initiative.
Simpson said they are still seeking three partners to purchase three additional units, although in our city the search is likely to be a short one.
