by Deb Eastwood, Director, Grenada Lifeguards
“SGU has been amazing!” stated Deb Eastward, Director of Grenada Lifeguards.
Just last Friday the Department of Public Safety at St George’s University donated a second Automated External Defibrillator (AED) to Grenada Lifeguards for use at the lifeguard tower in front of Camerhogne Park. AEDs can save someone’s life if they have a heart attack (cardiac arrest). The sooner you use a defibrillator, the greater the person’s chances of survival. The AED device uses electricity to restart the heart or shock it back into its correct rhythm. It is used when the heart suddenly stops pumping.
In terms of modern medicine and equipment, the defibrillator is a very costly ($5,000–$6,000) device, but a powerful and necessary tool used by doctors, paramedics, and front-line rescuers across the world. Eastwood commented on how grateful they were for the second donation. “The first AED was donated in November of 2020 and SGU has maintained it the entire time. They were upgrading their own inventory of AEDs at the University and they also upgraded our unit. The new unit has many improvements over the first one such as being an automatic device which means it will deliver the shock itself, without human intervention once the pads are applied. We are excited to have this new technology.”
Additional support from SGU
Deb Eastwood also commented on how Dan Gough and his department have provided First Aid training to the lifeguards. She stated: “Not only have they come to the beach to give CPR/AED training, in June of last year, 5 of our staff were certified, at no charge, in a 40-hour class on campus to become Emergency Medical Responders. SGU’s community support is top-notch.” Jeron Morain, Supervisor of the Grand Anse Lifeguards stated, “From all the lifeguards and management we would like to say thank you for your continuous support.”
Lifeguard certification
Grenada Lifeguards provides lifeguarding services to the Ministry of Tourism for Grand Anse and Bathway beaches. The Grenada Lifeguards are all Red Cross-certified per ministry standards and most lifeguards have a second certification as a National Lifeguard with the Lifesaving Society of Canada. All lifeguards have had specific AED training in case of the need for this unit. It has been used on numerous occasions.
For info on becoming a lifeguard, visit www.getgrenadaswimming.com/life-saving
Grenada Lifeguards