Nova Scotia to spend $700K to equip all public schools with defibrillators

HALIFAX — Nova Scotia is spending $700,000 to equip all the province’s public schools with automated external defibrillators.

Education Minister Derek Mombourquette said today in a news release schools are often used by people of all ages during evenings and weekends and having the devices available could save someone’s life.

The province is purchasing 350 of the portable electronic devices, which analyze the heart’s rhythm and deliver an electric shock to help it return to a more effective rhythm.

The Education Department says about 70 schools already have defibrillators.

Once installed, the defibrillators will be added to a database run by Emergency Health Services, which allows the department to direct people who call 911 to the closest machine.

The department says automated external defibrillators cost about $2,000, and that there are more than 1,300 of the devices registered in the province.