In the event of an emergency, the staff at Merlis Belsher Place is ready.
Following St. Louis Blues defenceman Jay Bouwmeester’s collapse Tuesday night, light has been shed on the importance of life-saving defibrillators.
Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) are currently at more than 900 locations in Saskatoon, and the nearly two-year-old facility on the University of Saskatchewan grounds has two on location. One AED is located on the main level, while the other is on the second level.
Facility operations manager, Jason Keating told 650 CKOM that they also have staff on hand at all times in the event of an emergency.
“There (are) people on site that are trained, and are able to help out when needed. We always want to provide a safe atmosphere for our fans and the kids that are on the ice, and for everyone that comes to the facility,” he said.
Keating said since the facility opened in October 2018, they haven’t had to use either defibrillator. Still, regular maintenance is done to ensure that if there is a case where they need to use them, they’re ready to go.
“We do monthly inspections on them internally, and then we have them serviced twice a year,” Keating said.
According to the Saskatoon HeartSafe program, which supplies Saskatoon’s businesses with the machines, more than 20 lives have been saved by using defibrillators since the early 2000s.