In emergencies, every minute matters. 

With that in mind, the Cochrane Activettes have made it their mission to help make Cochrane a safer place to live. 

As part of their 45th Anniversary Legacy Project, the volunteer service club purchased 10 AEDs (Automated External Defibrillators) and placed them at various places throughout town to make it a heart-safe community.  

One of the AEDs is located at the Cochrane Food Bank, and that unit is unique to all the other units in that it is mobile. 

Kathy Tucker with the Cochrane Activettes said they're still fine-tuning the details, but the plan is to offer the AED as part of a loaner program from Friday to Sunday. 

"There are opportunities out in the community that people would like to have a mobile AED unit when they're holding an event. We've decided to keep a portable unit here, so that people can loan it from us for their event and bring it back to us." 

She said the device needs to be at the food bank from Monday to Thursday while they are operational. Members bring the unit with them when they're volunteering out in the community. 

When they chose the sites to place the AED units, they tried to pick locations so all of Cochrane was covered. 

"Those 10 that we have put out in the community have been strategically placed so that we are trying to cover all the quadrants of Cochrane should an emergency arise." 

Tucker said several Activettes are retired nurses and they've been able to show the volunteers how to use the unit, but the AEDs are designed to be simple to use.

"It has instructions on it, that you just basically push the button. These have been made so simple for anyone to use without training" 

The AEDs are located at:

-The Cochrane Food Bank (mobile)

-The Clothesline

-Cochrane & Area Humane Society 

-Cochrane Movie House

-St. Peter's Lutheran Church 

-Cochrane Alliance Church

-Petro-Canada (Sunset Ridge)

-Tim Hortons (West Valley

-Tim Hortons (Heartland)

-Tim Hortons (Fireside) 

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