We are really pleased to announce Heart of the Shires now has a 24/7 publicly accessible automated external defibrillator. The what three words ref is marzipan router fired.
With over 100 units now installed, many of which in Warwickshire, this is the very first unit to be introduced by The Our Jay Foundation in Northamptonshire. The OurJay Foundation work closely with local government organisations, community groups and business organisations to get these vital accessible defibrillators into as many publicly accessible sites as possible. When we heard about Our Jay, we knew we needed a defibrillator at Heart of the Shires.
In the early hours of New Years Day 2022, Jamie Rees from Rugby, suffered a cardiac arrest. There was a defibrillator nearby, but it was locked inside a school, so it could not be accessed. Sadly oxygen starvation meant Jamie passed away on January 5th, he was only 18 years old. Jamie, a registered organ donor saved 5 lives, this included an 8 month old baby girl with a life saving part liver transplant.
Cardiac arrest can happen to anyone, anywhere, any time, at any age. With a defibrillator available within the crucial first 8 minutes, it can increase the chance of a persons survival by up to 70%. Our Jay started fundraising on 26th January 2022, to purchase the very first 24/7 accessible defibrillator for Ashlawn School in Rugby. Jamie and his family were big fans of Heart of the Shires with Jamie’s favourite shop, of course, being the Sweet Shop.
With over 100 defibrillators now installed, and the very latest now at Heart of the Shires – number 106, once again Jamie is saving lives.
The Our Jay Foundation, Naomi, Jeremy, Jamie’s family and friends, their supporters and so many people who have donated, or shared Facebook posts or told a friend about defibrillators – are all absolutely incredible …and now OurJay are looking to expand into Northamptonshire, to continue the brilliant work. We are more than happy to recommend them.
Heart of the Shires is the very first Our Jay unit in Northamptonshire and will not be the last. We’d encourage anyone who would like a unit to get in touch today.
We hope nobody will never have to use the defibrillator but if it is needed, thanks to Jamie, it is ready right now.
#defibrillator #accessibledefibrillator #ourjayfoundation