Students push for AEDs at Vancouver schools following friend's death

VANCOUVER, B.C. -

Following the tragic death of their friend, a group of students is pushing for automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, to be installed in all Vancouver schools.

Tobias Zhang’s best friend died in 2022 after suffering a cardiac arrest during basketball tryouts at Point Grey Secondary.

During a call to 911, the operator asked if there was an AED available.

There wasn’t, and ultimately the boy – who CTV News is not identifying at the request of friends and family – died.

And so the students have been trying to ensure a similar tragedy doesn’t happen again at the school.

They’ve bought two of the devices after raising more than $5,000.

But when they presented one of the AEDs to school staff, they were told it couldn’t be accepted due to school district policy.

“I thought it was a pretty ridiculous response,” Zhang, now in Grade 11, told CTV News during an interview on Friday. “In this situation, our course of action is to continue, even though they told us no.”

Zhang has backup. Several other students have joined up with him to form a group called Students for AEDs.

“What we’ve noticed in the past year, it’s that there’s not a lack of advocacy,” said Disha Chatrath, a fellow Grade 11 student and member of the group. “There’s a lack of action.”

Another student pointed out it’s not just classmates they’re looking out for.

“When you think about a school, it’s not just the students,” said Grade 11 student Mireille Stausgaard. “It’s the teachers and the parents and the staff. We have an amazing community here and we want to keep them safe.”

Some local politicians have already met with the students to show their support.

“I think they’ve made a really credible case for the need for these AEDS in all schools, and I know they recently met with the Vancouver School Board,” noted Lisa Dominato, a Vancouver city councillor. “At the end of the day, when it comes down to life and limb, we want to see that kids – and adults in their workplaces – are safe.”

Some districts are already moving ahead with similar plans. North Vancouver has the devices in secondary schools and is expanding that to primary schools.

“We’re responding to community requests and community support for this – for having AEDS in schools,” North Vancouver School Board Chair Linda Munro told CTV News on Friday. “This is not a topic we were talking 10, 20 years ago, but it is a topic with community interest.”

In a statement, the Vancouver School Board told CTV News it working on a plan to implement AEDs, and that it is following guidance provided by the provincial health officer and Vancouver Coastal Health. But it noted a number of factors have to be considered, from maintenance and inspection processes to where the devices would be located.

It also said each school has staff with first aid and CPR training. Additionally, a small number of AEDs have been placed in schools where students have “specific health needs.”