The council of the Zion Lutheran Church in Schwartz is indelibly concerned about the well-being of their congregation and community whether it be spiritual, social or physical, and there is ample empirical evidence serving to inform their will, reach and effectiveness.

In early January of this year, they put the wheels in motion to further substantiate their commitment through the acquisition of an automated external defibrillator (AED) for installation and use at the church, and this past week they saw their efforts come to fruition.

According to a 2023 report from Quebec’s Ministry of Health, approximately 10,000 people suffer from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) across the province each year. In this context, the utility of a publicly accessible AED, seen as the primary response to any out-of-hospital occurrence, comes into clear view.
Survival of SCA is highly time-dependent, as every minute without successful treatment reduces survival by seven to 10 per cent, and quick access to an AED is paramount to improving odds.

The units have been sanctioned since the early 2000s, are easy to use and offer voice commands to assist laypersons in their use for responding to somebody suffering from sudden cardiac arrest.

The church’s council chair Donna Zacharias said the conversation surrounding the AED started last year, and that the council began its fundraising efforts in earnest in January of this year. The primary vehicle for the effort was to be a raffle and three items were donated for the cause: Sonya Koenig donated a quilt which she named “My Little House in Ladysmith”, Rose and Ronnie Zimmerling donated a solid oak deacon’s bench, and Wayne Bretzlaff donated a home-crafted afghan. Raffle tickets were sold at community and church events, as well as via online call-outs.

Doug Black, son of local and well-known businessman Gord (Gordon) Black, saw a social media post advertising the raffle in July and immediately saw opportunity to give back to the community he calls his own.

“While I’m not a member of the church, I am a member of the community and have had a cottage on Johnson Lake since 2017,” Black said. His donation of roughly half the cost of the defibrillator in the name of his family was a well-received and unexpected boost.

Black is no stranger to the value of an AED. Now a fire captain, he has been a part of the Ottawa Fire Services since 1997 and can speak first hand to the value of defibrillators.

“As a first responder, I have used defibs a couple hundred times and they are very effective,” he said.

Thanks to the donation by Black and the raffle’s success, Zion acquired a ZOLL brand AED in late September, and council member Gerry Schwartz installed the unit this past week.

In preparation for the eventuality of having an AED on site, the Zion Church council enlisted the services of the Otter Lake Fire Department and Caroline Gagné for a one-day first aid course in May whereby eight members of the congregation were trained in the unit’s use.

Having a defibrillator on hand at locations where any delay in the response time from first responders can put effectiveness of their efforts in jeopardy has seen a huge push provincially this last year with the Quebec government committing to install units in arenas and schools throughout the province.

For Zion, the initiative was wholly homegrown and they are thrilled to be just a little bit more prepared in case there be need. Congratulations go out to raffle winners Lauren Parlee, who won the Deacon’s Bench, Rev. Leena Jensen of Pembroke who won the quilt, and Esther Dubeau of Otter Lake who won the afghan.