The Quebec Major Junior Hockey league will improve its first-aid protocols after the death of a teenage Nova Scotia hockey player named Jordan. The boy suffered cardiac arrest on the ice many years ago.
The boy about 16 years of age had an undiagnosed condition of the heart when he collapse and died at a training camp for the QMJHL’s Arcadie-Bathurst Titan. They are the major ice hockey team that is based in Bathurst, New Brunswick, Canada.
Intervention
According to the organizers of the league readiness in first-aid needs to be improved. It acknowledged the determination of the family of the boy in improving the safety of the players and they also apologized for the pain caused by the league.
Debbie, the mother of Jordan feels that her son is getting some justice and it brings more awareness and positive changes.
According to a source, it was already about 10 minutes between the time the boy fell to the ice and when responders provided automated external defibrillator also called an AED. According to the paramedics when they arrived in the area, they did not saw any defibrillator connected to the boy and the CPR provided by the team staff was ineffective because Jordan was still wearing his chest protector. Chances of Jordan’s survival are better if an automated external defibrillator was applied immediately in the first five minutes after the incident.
Here are some changes of the QMJHL’s safety protocol which includes that each team must have at least three staff, properly trained in life-saving techniques, CPR and use of an AED. Two of these trained staff should be present in all team events, practices, games and tryouts. Each team will have its own AED machines which will be kept by the trainer and athletic therapist in all events of the team. They make sure the AED is in good working condition. Every year, each team should make a report to the league which of their staff is trained in life-saving techniques with proper certification and annual refresher training. And lastly every year the league will audit each team to make sure they comply with the requirements.
If any emergency ever to happen again to a player in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, the teams will be properly prepared and that person will have a better chance to survive.
The QMJHL will conduct detailed physical examinations of players that include cardiovascular risk. The parents of Jordan hold a yearly celebrity hockey tournament in Jordan’s name and the proceeds is given to the QEII Inherited Heart Disease Clinic in Halifax. The event has raised plenty of money.
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LEARN MORE
Learn how to help by enrolling in a first aid and CPR class and for more information, check out these sources:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/first-aid/cpr/
https://www.webmd.com/first-aid/automated-external-defibrillators-aed-treatment
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automated_external_defibrillator